I once read a book entitled, “You Can Never Go Home, Again”, which is a book about family systems. This book came into mind, as I sat on a bench, at a beach I used to hang out at with friends. Back then, I carried a surf board, a wet suit and keys to a 1972 Pinto Runabout. This day, I carried a digital camera and a laptop computer. As I sat on the bench at the beach, memories came back and washed over me. There was a comforting and peaceful sense of being home again. But as I took it all in, I knew I wasn’t home at all. Oh… how time changes things. This place, a place I once called home, a place I blended into as being one with it, now, because of time, I stood out like Tom Cruise at Mass.

Our lives are marked with many transitions in a very fluid world. The month of May tends to be a big month of transition in many of our lives and around Mount Zion. Many of our youth complete the school year and are promoted to new classes, new schools and some graduate to start new careers in colleges, universities and in the work force. Many who worship with us during the Fall and Winter head to homes where family gather to greet them with smiles, joy and love. The church itself transitions into a summer mode with changes to Sunday School, worship services and Bible Study.

As I sat at the beach, in a home that had changed, I wondered how much I, as a person, have changed. There are some things about me that have changed. Some of the changes in me are in the areas of the things I value, those things I consider important and I don’t smoke anymore. But, there are some aspects of me that haven’t changed much at all, good or bad. (And that’s what the book mentioned above is about.) I still have a sense of humor. I still want to “do things right”. I still struggle with images of myself (and hence the therapist), and I still like to live where things are on the move. Idleness is not my thing and never was.

Despite so much transitioning and change in our lives, especially in the month of May, there are some constants in our lives that keep us anchored, good or bad. And one constant anchor, despite all the change and transitions, which is very good, is that God came to you and to me, He came to love you and guide you, and protect you and stay with you. As we read in the psalms, He is our rock. He is that foundation which stays the course in a fluid life. God’s promise to you and to me, He has fulfilled and has made that known to us in wonderful and marvelous ways. Often times, He reveals this truth through you, the living Body of Christ. And for that, for your continuing presence among the people of God, and to God Himself, I give thanks and praise.

Have a safe, faith filled summer. And try to relax some.

In Christ’s Love and Service, Pastor Dan