Still Hopeful

After months of pain and a recent MRI, the doctor asked me, “What did you do to get such a bad back?” My mind floated briefly back to the times in my life that that were fun but stressful on my body. (Click here for an example.)

He told me that my 60 year old body was young on the outside, but my back was old on the inside. Not the kind of thing you want to hear. I’m now two weeks out from back surgery and under strict orders not to lift anything over 5 pounds. (That’s less than a gallon of milk.) Looking ahead to my future, I will be required to make some lifestyle changes in order to stay healthy.

It's also been a year and a half since I wrote my last blog post at the conclusion of my time as a district superintendent in the United Methodist Church. Since then I have been immersed in serving as a pastor for the Asbury United Methodist Church in Bettendorf, Iowa and loving it.

Asbury, like most churches, is also in the midst of making some lifestyle changes in order to stay healthy. We also know that the United Methodist Church in 2020 will surely experience major changes. The future is uncertain. My last blog as a superintendent was about hope and that is still on my heart today.

I’ve appreciated the Advent sermon series that my colleague in ministry, Rev. Heather Dorr has been preaching during my recovery. She has been using Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” as a backdrop. You know the story of how Ebeneezer Scrooge encounters the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. It has reminded me of a personal experience.  

Before leaving the hospital after my surgery, I stopped in the chapel for a moment of prayer. In my mind I went back 19 years into the past when I had been in that same chapel. At that time our seven year old daughter had just come out of surgery after a major accident. I remember praying through tears, “Thank you, God,” because she had survived. But with multiple broken bones the future was uncertain. Now looking back, I have the perspective of knowing that she would heal and grow up to be a fine young wife, mother and servant of Jesus.

I was praying about my own future and imagined myself being in that same chapel several years from now. I could see myself looking back and knowing how God had helped me through it all. What gives me hope is being able to see how God was with us in the past, feeling God’s Spirit in the present and trusting in God’s grace for the future.

Yes, we will all have to face challenging times of lifestyle changes. Some by choice, and some by necessity. Our church will have to change to adapt to a new world. We all must change in order to preserve our planet. But while the future may seem uncertain, there is hope because God has come to us in the form of a human baby named Jesus.    

The hope that God offers in Jesus gives us the energy to persevere, face the challenging times and make the lifestyle changes that will bring health and healing to ourselves, our neighborhoods and our world. I was hopeful then, and I’m still hopeful now because of Jesus.

Merry Christmas.