Look at Your Feet

Post date: May 07, 2021 2:24:7 PM

Dear Middletown Reformed Church Family and Friends,

Blessings of Easter joy be with you!

“Look at your feet often . . . stay in the day.”

Thus is a quote that a church member sent me from a journal she has in her keeping. It is a journal of sayings meant to be given from a father to his child. The saying is a reminder to be present in the now, not looking backward to the past or forward to the future to inform who we are, but living into the day we are given. It is sage advice, and advice I often heard from my therapist: “If you have one foot in the past, and the other foot in the future, you will not be standing in the present.”

Jesus says, So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today (Matthew 6.34). Sage advice, once again.

I have noticed that our society is quite adept at worrying and doing, but not so great at being. Perhaps this is because the Protestant Work Ethic runs strong and deep in our country. But being still in the now is where God is with today. Assuredly, God was with us in the past and will be with us in the future, but the call for us as followers of Christ is, what is God saying to us presently? How is the Holy Spirit trying to get our attention at this moment? I’m not saying we shouldn’t plan for the future, but when we create scenarios in our mind that have not even happened, or may not happen, our minds race and spin away and we may become anxious for what isn’t or what may never be. And in the spinning, we become unaware to what God is trying to teach us in this moment. Oh, beloved, I know being present can be a difficult practice — especially in a world that runs at a frenetic pace — but it is a spiritual discipline so worthy of our efforts, for there in the space of being is God, waiting for us; simply waiting for us.

I’m looking forward to welcoming you to church in person, via Zoom, or livestream this Sixth Sunday of Easter as we continue to celebrate the gift of the resurrection. Our musical offerings this Sunday will certainly stir your soul as Sarah Gordon is our featured musician singing and playing flute for “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” for our Anthem, and singing “Bind Us Together/Make Us One” for our Sermon Prayer Reflection. I will be preaching from John 15.9-17 and my sermon title is Lesson from the Mother Tree.  If you are attending in person, please wear your mask, practice social distancing, and sit where you see a white gratitude card on the pews.

I was grateful to receive the gift of the journal quote as a reminder to myself to live in the day, and I have translated the saying in a manner that makes sense for me: “Look at your feet, for that’s where you are.” May you look at your feet and practice being, and in so doing, may you hear the Spirit whispering words of comfort and feel surrounded by God’s love and grace today. 

In gratitude for the privilege of being your pastor and the holy call of loving you,

Pastor Trish