Dear Church Family:

With all the storm activity lately, I’ve been struck by how quickly things can change. This morning when I drove my daughter to school, I discovered the pristine streets of our little community of Babcock Ranch are covered with layers of dirt and pine straw from the massive rains last night. In some places the asphalt was barely visible because of all the mess.

Streets will have to be blown off. Flower beds will have to be re-shaped. Pine straw and mulch will have to be replaced. And all of this will be repeated again the next time a major storm comes through. But you know what? The work is a result of the blessing!

Blessing From Above

We need the rain to bring nourishment to the same flowers whose beds have been disturbed, because without rain there is no growth, and without growth, there is only death.

We need the rain to keep our aquifers full so our irrigation, water treatment, and needed services continue to run at full capacity (Google “California droughts” for what it looks like on the other side.)

And we need tasks that must be done so we can have jobs for people who need to feed their families.

The work is a result of the blessing.

As we lean into a new season of growth and change in the life of our church family, it’s easy to let ourselves focus on the “mess” that growth creates. Changes to the facilities, changes to the activities, changes to the way we do things here … yes, it can be a mess.

But we can also choose to focus on the blessing that’s creating the mess in the first place! God is moving. Lives are changing. Doors are opening. Great things are happening with more on the way and WE get to be a part of it all!

I hope you’ll join me in choosing to smile at the mess we’ve been given because we’re so grateful for the blessing. Mess comes from growth, and without growth, there is no “staying the same,” only a slow death withering on the vine, and that gets messy, too.

I know which mess I prefer.

Looking up and ahead with you,
~ Pastor Phillip