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Rev. Barbara J Hegfors
PASTOR'S PONDERINGS
Greetings in Christ;
Leap Year 2012
February 29, 2012 – Yes, this year is leap year and those who have a birthday on the 29th are forever young! This year there are 29 days in February, giving us 5 Wednesdays. .
Leap years happen every four years, so they are not rare or perhaps even noteworthy.
Perhaps this date thing is something only an idiot savant could appreciate, but it does raise the issue of perspective. Where were you on your faith journey 4 years ago? Where are you today? Where might you be in another 4 years? .
From Deuteronomy 26:1-11, as pilgrims we want to come into the land. We want to have a sense of progress, and have a destination in sight. .
When we look at this date on the calendar, we enter into the world of leaping years. We jump ahead, or back, and we think about what has changed and what might change. And when we leap years, or decades, or even generations, we start to think about the things in life that are really worth preserving. .
Moses looks ahead with confidence, believing that God will surely lead his people into the Promised Land. Moses calls the Israelites to give thanks, and to show their appreciation with a gift of first fruits. Not leftovers, you understand; not table scraps; not disposable income; not what remains in the checkbook after every other bill has been paid. First fruits. The good stuff. The cream of the crop. The best bling-bling. A gift of thanksgiving that comes right off the top. .
Moses also asked the pilgrim to share their faith /journey story. After presenting the first fruits, the worshiper is to tell their story, and it is in this story that he leaps back many years to the greatest crisis in the history of God’s people. He jumps back years, decades, generations, and he tells the tale. It is in this story that the people of God discover the things in life that are really worth preserving. .
The Lord hears our voice. Whenever we cry out in pain, God is perfectly tuned to our turmoil. It doesn’t matter whether we are crying over a crushing failure in a college course, a career-ending pink slip in a paycheck, a cancerous tumor that appears out of nowhere. Whenever we wail in anguish, the Lord hears our voice.
God also sees our affliction. Our Lord looks deeply into the affairs of human life, and knows precisely where there is injustice, violence and anguish. .
So what is your story? What are the plotlines of your faith as you look back over the leaping years one or two generations and revisit how you’ve walked with God? .
From the pages of Scripture, we must help make the leap across the generations, to our children and our children’s children. Share our story of faith. Don’t keep the story to yourself – you might be surprised at the love you share from your heart!
Blessings, Pastor Barb
Rev. Barbara J Hegfors | bjturtle@frontiernet.net
(218) 229-2113
UMC |
MN UMC
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110 East Fourth Ave North, Aurora, MN 55705
Kennedy Memorial Dr and Hampshire Dr, Hoyt Lakes, MN 55750