No Matter What

What’s true is true no matter what . . . .

​November 5, 2024

Beloved:
          I woke up praying for calm and decency to rule the day.  Toward that end I am entirely off social media and the news until tomorrow morning.  Otherwise my own heart cannot possibly remain calm, nor my mind stay focused on what’s true no matter what ~ no matter what, now that election day is really here.  No matter what, our lives and life together belong to God.  In chaos or in calm, we are called to speak and walk and act out the peace of Christ which reigns over human fear and the trouble which erupts when that fear is induced. 
          What’s true is true no matter what, I am reciting to myself throughout the day, a kind of sing-song as I walk the dog or make my lunch.  No matter how much life changes.  No matter how afraid or frustrated or angry I feel at any given moment.  No matter how inclined I am to hope for specific outcomes for various situations.  What’s true is that I control almost nothing that goes on around me and, also, God promised to be with me through whatever happens.  So I control how I think about what goes on around me.  I choose to remember the promise and the calling to partner with God and my faith community in this time and place:  loving mercy, doing justice, acting humbly, insofar as I am able. 
          What’s true no matter what is that the world around us is still desperate for the hope that life is more than work and bills, suffering and war.  As Christ followers and people of the gospel we carry that hope within us, surely spilling from our pockets like candy wrappers left on a school bus.  Our neighbors cannot afford for us to get shy now, with so much at stake.  So, take a walk around the block, speaking kindness as you’re able.  Wave a hand and pet a dog, share the vibe of hope in this anxious hour.  What is true is true no matter what, that God is no less among us than God has always been and we are no less called to be people of hope here and now.  

~ peace & prayers beloved,
pastor annette