Pastoral Reflections

Greetings to the life-builders of East Zorra!

I worked for a cement contractor erecting poured house foundations one summer.  It was hot, hard, physical work!  I learned a little bit about building! One home was on bog, so we laid its footing over 20’ deep so that we had the right compaction to build on!

As we build our lives, everyone puts their hope and trust in something–and what we put our hope and trust in becomes our foundation for life. Some people build their lives on the foundation of money, believing that if they have more money, life will be better and more secure. Some people build their lives on possessions, trusting that more stuff means more happiness. Lots of people build their lives on popularity, thinking that if they can get more friends, they will never be on their own and life will be great. 

These are just a few examples. The truth is, you can build your life on any number of things: fame, grades, sex, athletics, music, drugs, alcohol, beauty, video games, shopping, texting and…well, you get the picture. 

Not all of these things I have listed are bad–but every one of them is temporary. When the storms of life come (and they will come), those things…well, they can all go away.

So I have to ask: what are you building your life on? 

We are called to build our lives on the rock–and that rock is Jesus. Sometimes we think life will be perfect when we are following Christ, but make no mistake: storms will still come while following Jesus! In John 16:33 (NLT), Jesus told His disciples, “Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

East Zorra, keep building on the Rock!

Pastor Lloyd

JEAN’S JOTTINGS    FEBRUARY 2022

TRANSITIONS

I am sure that it comes as no surprise to most of you that transitions might be on my mind, but I want to focus on the fact that we are all living with and through transitions all the time…some transitions have a greater impact on our day to day lives than others do. The important thing, I think about transitions is how we handle them, how they effect us… are they major life shifting transitions or are they the ones that when we look back we can see that a change had happened.

I started thinking about transitions from a very personal perspective… a major shift this past year when Doug died and another major shift/transition as I retire from Parish Nursing but then I looked broader and realized that we are all working through transitions all the time…especially as we think of these last couple of years with Covid.

Here is a bit of what I am learning.

Expecting change boosts or improves our mental health. If we keep in mind that any new developments or life transitions – welcome or unwelcome – are temporary, we will experience more tranquility. An awareness that change is happening or is anticipated helps smooth that path.

What Is a Life Transition?

A life transition is any change or adjustment that impacts your life in a significant way. We all experience transitions throughout our lives — big and small, planned, and unplanned.

Transitions may be centered around something exciting, such as starting a new job or an addition to your family. They can also be prompted by distressing situations, such as the loss of a loved one or the onset of a pandemic. Transitions can involve exciting changes, distressing ones, or even just milestones. For example, many people struggle with changes such as turning 40, retiring, or becoming a parent.

Tips for Dealing with Transitions:

• Prepare (when you can). When possible, try to prepare for your transition. This may involve outlining a plan for the logistics of your transition — or just setting a helpful mindset.
• Set reasonable expectations. Unmet expectations can create frustration or stress. Try to set the reasonable expectation that you will likely feel stressed and overwhelmed at times. It’s also helpful to remember that feeling stressed during transitions is completely normal!
• Develop a routine. Consider creating morning and evening routines to facilitate a sense of consistency. Regular sleep and wake times, a daily walk, meditation, or intention-setting for the day can be great additions to your routine.
• Check your self-talk. What types of things are you saying to yourself? Are these internal comments helping you cope with this transition or making the transition more challenging? One way to develop helpful self-talk is to recall transitions (or other difficult situations) you’ve successfully coped with before; they can be a reminder that you can manage this too!
• Set small goals. Instead of trying to fully resolve everything related to your transition, set small feasible goals to take on one at a time. Ask yourself, “What is one small thing I can do right now?”
• Stay connected. Social support is critical during times of transition. Chatting with a family member or friend can be a way to help your transition feel less lonely.
• Practice self-compassion. Change is difficult. The reality is that you aren’t always going to navigate life transitions perfectly. While these recommendations can be useful in making transitions a bit easier, it is important to also be kind and compassionate to yourself during this time. Not sure how to do this?  Then try this: “It’s okay to feel overwhelmed or stressed when navigating a change in life. I’m just going to do the best I can in this moment.”

In early January, the Rejoice magazine had a devotional titled ENDING WELL. The verse from Revelation really spoke to me.

“See, I am making all things new.” I became aware how each transition is an opportunity for God to make “things new”.

That just as the writer suggests, we should pause, give thanks for what is good, and live fully into the moment. Then we need to move forward with a prayer that our thoughts and words and actions will be pleasing to God.

Jean MacDonald, Parish Nurse

With the recognized day of romance, Valentine’s, just a few days away, many are beginning to think about the crazy thing called love.  Fondly we remember meeting the love of our lives and we reflect on how suddenly our lives took another trajectory.  Amazing what love does! 

While many songs are written, and we reflect on the emotions we experience, the Bible has a less romantic but profound definition.  ⁴Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. I Cor. 13 

Someone wisely said, there is no better gift than the gift of appreciation.  When you value a person, you will help lift them to want to do more and achieve more.  Don’t be shy, these days, share your appreciation! Show your love & appreciation to those in your life every day, and on Valentine’s Day, especially to your true love!  Maybe consider treating yourselves to a romantic dinner. If you can’t ‘eat in’ somewhere, consider ‘take out’ or ‘delivery’!

At East Zorra, as we meet this Sunday, at our Annual Meeting, reviewing all that God has done in us, and thru us, in 2021, there will be plenty of appreciation.  We are better together!  As we appreciate and support one another, we bring out the best in each other.  We are God’s team, working together to know Him and make Him known.   

The apostle Paul admonishes us: It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? Gal. 5:13-15 the Message.

Keep on lovin’!

Pastor Lloyd

Greetings in the name of Jesus who invites us to live the way of love…

The love that Jesus and the Bible calls us to is not a warm fuzzy love that fills us with strong positive feelings of attraction toward everyone we are called to love.  It may include some of that on some occasions but it’s not the goal of the Jesus way of love. The way of love that Jesus calls us to is the way of actions toward the other. Actions that are… kind, good, patient, tolerant of difference, non-judgmental, respectful, truthful, seeking to understand the other, gracious, forgiving, full of blessing, and are expressive of our desire for the well-being of the one we love.

This Sunday Lloyd will launch a 3-week preaching series on the words of Jesus recorded in Luke 6 in the ‘Sermon on the Plain’. They are hard sayings of Jesus that even go so far as to call us to love our enemies! Imagine that! What was Jesus thinking?

Jesus was onto something and offers teachings we so desperately need in our world today. The rhetoric rising because of this pandemic and its mandates, and the frustrations growing around freedom convoys and rallies, are two of the challenges, and opportunities, we face in this moment as followers of Jesus. How will we enter the conversations? How will be respond to our neighbours, and family members, that have different opinions than we do? How will we live our lives as followers of Jesus today? Will we walk, and talk, and post, in the Jesus way of love? Will we love in the power of God’s Spirt, in a way we could never love on our own?

I pray that we will live in the Jesus way of love! By God’s grace we can! When we fail, we will get up and try again.

¹² As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³ Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lordhas forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) shared this prayer written by Ly Vang, one of the first members at First Hmong Mennonite Church in Kitchener.

God of all creation,

Today we come together in our weakness, with the desire of peace, unity and love.
Give us the strength to walk humbly with our brothers and sisters in humility and integrity so that we do not let the lies of the enemy to overtake us,
But help us to count ourselves as equals with one another, that we would treat and love one other the same way we do for ourselves.
Help us not to merely look out for our own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Help us to lives worthy of your calling.

Remind us to be completely humble and gentle; being patient, bearing with one another in love. 
Help us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Today we come to stand against the arrogance and pride that causes division. We say no to hatred, racism, sexism, war and poverty. We will not be afraid but rise up and meet every challenge and circumstances that come upon our lives.
We pray and trust in you to do all these in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pastor Ray

Greetings to my travelling companions on the journey… 

This week Bell hosted another “Let’s Talk” day. I have been inspired by stories that are shared and the courage of the story tellers. I am grateful for the increased awareness these “Let’s Talk” days have brought to the challenges that many face as they live with mental distress and illness, and work to maintain good mental health.    

“Mental health is not a finish line but a journey.” That is one catch line that caught my attention this week. I believe it provides an important reminder that mental health is not something we achieve, and then never struggle with again. Mental health is an ongoing journey that requires all the planning, equipment and supplies, maps, companionship, refreshments, and rest stops… that any journey needs. While favourable weather always enhances a journey, somedays it rains and pours or snows and storms.  Over the last 2 years the covid pandemic climate has made the mental health journey a significant challenge. The physical and social climates have contributed to many stormy days.  

Since mental health is a lifelong journey the importance of companions for the journey cannot be overstated. We need each other! Already in the Genesis story God said: “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” God would say the same about all of us – It’s not good that we should be alone! We need each other! 

The mental health journey can weigh us down, so… “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2). Christ’s law is the way of love, light, healing actions and grace.  

So, let’s journey together so we can lighten each other’s load and fulfill the way of Jesus. Let’s support each other! Let’s keep talking! Let’s keep listening! Let’s keep sharing our burdens, and resources! Let’s keep extending to each other love and grace!  

As I suggested in a message a few weeks ago, go through the church directory, or do a mental walk through your neighbourhood, and then reach out to someone. Check in, call, and say hi, see how they are doing. Let’s keep inviting conversations. Let’s keep listening. Let’s keep talking! 

Pastor Ray