Greetings, Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
We endured such an extreme amount of rain this winter, so I chose to protect resources and turned the sprinkler system off at the house. I took advantage of the rain God had given and completely forgot about the lawn, until recently. Enough warm days came our way that the lawn didn’t have enough water from nature. Before I knew it, the lawn was turning brown. I have turned the sprinkler system back on, but until the sprinklers have enough days to bring the green back to the lawn, I will have a consistent reminder of my auto-pilot mode that neglected it.
It can be easy to get in auto-pilot mode with our faith, with life feeling good enough and stable enough that we do not need to put work into it. We find ourselves in cruise control with simple routines or legitimate sounding excuses, only to discover that our hearts become parched and in need of a spiritual quenching that can only come from our intentional connection time with God.
I urge us all to not respond to Easter with a pulling back from our spiritual feeding, feeling the fullness of Easter and the Godly charge that comes with it. Instead, we should seek to go even deeper with God as a response to the miracle of Easter. Join a Bible study, start a small group, make an appointment to meet with the pastor to talk about your faith journey, or find a way to donate time in service to God. Like my lawn, this time of feeding will not go to waste, but will help us grow strong roots that will help us to stand firm and reach tall with God’s help.
As Hebrews 12:1 tells us, “therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
May the God of Easter be with you in all that you do, providing you with the refreshing, strengthening nourishment of the Holy Spirit and all of the blessings that come with God’s presence in you.
See you at church! Pastor Stacy