Services every Sunday at 7:00 P.M.
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Services every Sunday at 7:00 P.M.
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"Live the Journey" Matthew 2:1-12 1/04/04
1) Pray about the direction God will lead you. Sometimes we're fortunate to get a star in the sky to lead us as the magi of old. The direction is very clear. We know for instance, that God is leading us to get a new job, because the job we have now is not fulfilling or we're just plain miserable at work. We might be smoking to many cigarettes, putting on more weight than we like and we know that we need to take better care of our health. But there are other times when the road ahead is not as clear. Both choices may be good ones. Or maybe there are no choices at all. It is vital to our life's journey to seek God's direction. Pray about what would be best, pray that God will open the right doors. And as a fortune cookie that I got recently said "Don't wait for others to open the right doors for you." Take the initiative to get going. Talk with someone else about the choices before you. Seek advice from someone you trust, someone that has been in a similar situation. Listen to your heart. Then pray some more. The journey is before us with more possibilities than we may imagine.2) Many times when we're heading in one direction in life there will be detours along the way. You can be sure when the wise men were headed for Bethlehem they ran into difficulties, they got lost, the journey took longer than they expected. And my guess is when they finally arrived they were surprised to find a baby as their Messiah. Life has a way of leading us into valleys of despair and mountaintops of shear grandeur. And you just never know who you're going to meet along the way. Sometimes in the most trying of circumstances when we think things can't get any worse someone shows up who makes all the difference. And how many of us after we look back at a time in our life that was particularly difficult we find out that we learned something that would help us on the rest of the journey. And sometimes during those challenging times we find out that was exactly were we were suppose to be because that headed us in a far better direction that we could have imagined. Whatever can be said about the journey of our life it will be full of surprises and wonder, it will have detours, and at times we won't even be on the map, but God the Divine guide will be on the journey with us and that makes all the difference.3) As we enter the year 2004 live each moment to the fullest. Indeed do stop to smell the roses or the coffee. Don't let what's happening around you force you to be anything other than your authentic self. We are most happy when we are being who we are and doing what we are meant to do. Take the time to know yourself - to spend time with yourself. Are you the person you want to be or do you need to make changes. There is always room for growth in our lives - we are never a finished product. Don't rush through this year, if it's one thing I've learned as I've aged is that time flies by rapidly. I remember only yesterday when Sarah was a baby and now she's turning into a young woman. I remember when I graduated from high school and was a young size 3 with my whole life before me. Don't waste a moment on things that don't matter, on worry that won't change a thing, and anything that would bring you down, that isn't healthy for you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. And although we can't control what happening around us each day, we can decide on the way we will move through each day.Happy 2004! May we live the journey God has in store for us. Pray for God's guidance and direction for this year. Go with the detours and unexpected crossroads knowing that God may have a surprise in store. Take the time to sit down and see if you're on the right path. Remember what Robert Frost said: Live each day to the fullest. These are the 24 hours... these are the 60 minutes... this is the moment... that you have been given. May you find peace in God's peace. Amen.
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