Something Wise in It

Post date: Feb 23, 2019 12:10:27 AM

Grace and peace to you!

There is something wise in it.

This was a response given to my friend and colleague as she reflected on watching the snow coming down this past Wednesday. She had recently moved from NYC out to the “country” of Pennsylvania to begin a new call to ministry. As she looked out at the gently falling snow, she remarked how the reaction to snow was so much different there than in the city. This is so true from my own experience living in NYC. Because of the availability of mass transit, people are able to get up and go to work or school during a snowstorm just like any other day. Nothing really stops. The only difference is they know it will be a messy, and perhaps slower, commute. Slog, slog, slog, work must be done.

But in the country, what a difference. My friend said, “I rather like the quieting of activities here in response to lots of snow. It reminds me how our worth is not in what we do, or in our productivity, but our worth is in the very fact we exist.”

There is something wise in it.

I couldn’t get that phrase out of my head as I went about my work on Wednesday. Every now and again, I’d look up at the snow swirling outside and think on that sentence. It became almost a mantra. A big project kept tugging at me, urging me to get started, but over and over again all I could hear was, There is something wise in it. So, I gave up fighting, sat down on the couch, looked out the window, and asked, “God, what is the wisdom you wish me to see, hear, and know?”

Nothing necessarily profound was revealed but I noticed that, yes, here in the "country" everything does slow down and it becomes hauntingly quiet. And I was reminded that I have loved this slower and quieter pace of being since I moved out here. It has fed my body and soul. As I continued to watch the snow, I couldn’t help but think that whenever we get a snowstorm this is God's way of saying, “Peace, be still, slow down, listen, look, let go” to our frenetic world. This wisdom was enough to sustain me, and I felt a deep sense of gratitude. 

Come this Sunday at 10:30 AM to slow down and be still before God. Our New Jericho Choir children will be singing the Word from the Children, “One Big Hallelujah”/“Song of Hope.” I will be preaching from Genesis 45.3-11, 15 and Luke 6.27-38 and my sermon title is Forgiveness. After worship, come back to church at 3 PM for All About Love: A February Showcase Concert featuring the works of George Gershwin. A free will offering will be taken and refreshments will follow in the Education Building. Invite your friends, family, and neighbors to this special afternoon of music under the direction of Ms. Judith Daugherty.

My friend ended her reflection on the snow like this: “I keep looking out my window and contemplating how gentle it is. Perhaps an invitation to us to treat each other with gentle reverence.”

Indeed, there is something wise in it.

In gratitude for the joy of being your Pastor, and the holy call of loving you,

Pastor Trish