Pastoral Thought--December 9

This morning I ventured out onto some familiar ground. . . I walked Luna. I have not been able to walk her for a few weeks as my recovery is progressing. But today, I gave it a try. We didn’t go very far for two reasons. One, I was not sure if my headache would return and I didn’t want to overdo it. Second, it is quite cold today. The temperature when we headed out was 29 degrees. 

But I put on an extra shirt, found my favorite gloves and awesome winter hat, and fetched Luna from JonMark’s room. When she caught sight of her harness and leash in my hand she started ‘yelping’ and ‘whining.’ Finally, we were going for a walk! She was so happy. She lunged toward the door and ran up and down the steps waiting for me. It felt good to begin getting back into my routine. 

We walked around the church once. She ran up and back. Circled me while she jumped. She was full of energy which made me smile. We took a second lap around the church with more of the same happening. Her breath was visible in cold, but it didn’t matter. We were walking!. . . By now my fingers were getting cold as we turned onto Franklin. 

The gloves that I selected are fingerless with a large mitten that can be pulled over them when needed. I unhooked the mittens from the back of my hand and secured them around my pink fingers. The effect was quick. Warmth flowed back into my hands. Luna was still running and dashing around me. But there was an unintended consequence to my choice of gloves. Because my fingers were no longer free to grip the leash handle properly, my grip was now much weaker with the mittens on. The extra knit fabric of the tops of the mittens did not fit through the handhold well. I squeezed harder to regain control should a car come down Plains. . . but it didn’t seem to help. My grip strength was not going to recover if I kept the mittens on—which I needed to because it was so cold

So there I was walking down Plains Church toward Franklin without a strong grip on a rambunctious German Shepherd who has not been walked like this in weeks. What could go wrong! 

My anxiety was real. 

What if she yanked? What if she lunged toward traffic? What if I did not properly anticipate her movements and she ripped herself from my grasp and ran across someone’s yard and toward another dog in the neighborhood? What if . . .  

I wonder if you have felt that way during Advent? Holding on for dear life when it feels like your grip will give way at any moment? The pressure and stress of your day have weakened your ability to hold fast—even to your faith? 

Catholic writer Michael Novak once wrote, “Hope is endurance. Hope is holding on and going on and trusting in the Lord.” 

A great deal of hope is based on our level of trust. In my case, I had to trust Luna to stay with me even as I knew that she longed to run. I had to endure her pulling even as I felt my hands were not strong enough to keep ahold of her. In my faith walk, I have to trust that God has given me the tools in the midst of a pandemic to endure. God provides the strength to endure, to hold on, even when I can feel my grip weakening because of outside pressures that are exerted upon me. 

We finished our walk down Plains and around the church again. Then back into the warm house. Hope and trust saw me through. . . I wonder if the same came be said for you today? I wonder where are the places today that you are gripping for all your worth? Can you and God, together, endure? Can you hold on? 

Blessings

Rev. Derek