Dear friends,
It feels like the new year has barely gotten started and already Christmas seems a century ago. The golden glow of December has decidedly given way to the harsh light of January, and I’m finding it easy to get focused on work, to fall into a rhythm.
Which is no small blessing! Productivity is great in itself… but that kind of rhythm also carries some real potential for spiritual harm. Whether you work in the house or outside of it, as a laborer, volunteer, or student, in an effort to do our best at what we do we shrink our perspective, narrowing our focus. We lose our attentiveness to the small things, the interactions with strangers, the unpredictable movement of God’s Spirit in our lives.
We can even lose touch with ourselves, preferring to gloss over our emotions and desires rather than taking the time and effort to deal with them honestly. We get so caught up in our plans that we lose sight of the mystery, the beauty, (and the fragility!) of life. James 4:13-15 reminds us to hold our plans a little more lightly, remembering that what may come to pass isn’t always in our hands. Living with an awareness of God’s love, we don’t need to cling to a false sense of certainty about the future, but can face each day bravely, doing the next right thing.
May the end of January bring us focus tempered by perspective and productivity freed from stress.
God’s love shine on you all,
Andrew