Return from the Redwoods

First, I want to apologize for not having an E-gram last week. Not only were Josanne and I on a trip, but we were primarily in places where we had no signal. That was really nice for being able to disconnect, but made it difficult to try to get something like this written.

Our trip was fantastic. I had never seen the redwoods before, and they were absolutely magnificent. For those who’ve seen them, you know that they are almost unimaginably tall soaring up above your head. They are also so big around it’s hard to even begin to get a sense of perspective until you stand next to one and begin to compare. When you begin to think about the age of these trees, it’s remarkable as well. We saw a tree that is thought to be over 1,300 years old, and there are some that they estimate the age to be 2,520 years old. Camping in the middle of these amazing trees certainly turned our thoughts to God and his creative ability. It also made me think about his faithfulness.

God’s creativity can be seen in the way that he works in our lives as well. Many of us face challenges. We experience heartbreak and trouble. God’s presence can be seen even in the difficulties we face, and sometimes that’s even where we can see God’s work most clearly. When we think about any problem we are facing right now, compare that to the age of these trees. Paul said this to the Corinthians: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV 2011). Our troubles are “light and momentary” compared to the “eternal weight of glory” that we look forward to. These troubles don’t seem that way at the time, but when we focus on God’s patient, creative work, we can have confidence that he continues to work in our lives as well.

Remember that upcoming, North Danvers will be hosting the ice cream social for the first band concert next Sunday, July 2nd. If you’d still like to help out in any way, you can check with Annette Morman or with Margie Whittenbarger.

I also want to make sure to express a couple of thank yous. Thank you to Martha and Jan for the special music yesterday during worship. It was fantastic! Also a big thank you to Tim and Amy Reeser and AJ for hosting a youth weiner roast last Saturday. They were such incredible hosts! Thanks also to those who volunteered and participated in the VBS last week.

God bless,

Brian