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A New Phase

by | May 27, 2020

It has been a privilege over the past few weeks to share my love of writing with you through these devotions. Sometimes the inspiration has come easily; my fingers seemed to fly over the keyboard as the ideas moved from my heart to my brain and became words and sentences and paragraphs. But just as often, inspiration has been elusive. It has come in fits and starts, through edits and rewrites; the old fashioned equivalent of ripping the paper out of the typewriter, wadding it into a ball, tossing it across the room, and -of course- missing the garbage can.

I have really enjoyed the way these devotions have allowed me to express myself beyond my role as children’s ministries director. So much of a normal work week has me researching and writing Sunday school lessons, or brainstorming games and activities for Kids Connect, or thinking ahead to the next family event. I have exercised “muscles” that I haven’t used in a long time. Writing these devotions has challenged me to consider a broader audience. We all have our “circles” where we’re most comfortable, don’t we? My main circle is our preschoolers through 5th graders and their families. My “audience” is the amazing group of kids and volunteers I get to spend time with on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. With these devotions, I’ve had to think outside the box and apply a wider lens.

As we move into a new phase – literally – at the end of this week, I hope that you are long on grace as you reflect on your personal experiences since mid-March. All of us have traveled over peaks and through valleys in ways we couldn’t have expected. There are things we meant to do, but didn’t, and that’s ok. There are things we wish we hadn’t done, but did anyway, and that’s ok. There are things we finally got around to doing, and that’s ok! That’s what grace is. And as we try to make sense of how we’ve grown and changed, and maybe sharpened our focus on what is most important in our lives, I hope that you will allow grace to help you accept what was, was is, and what’s ahead.