Reaching Out from
Grand Lake Community Chapel
Wednesday, January 27, 2020
Greetings in Christ!
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let us rejoice in the patches of blue sky above us, the pristine white snow beneath us, and the glory of God that surrounds us everywhere we are! It’s cold outside, but what else would we expect living Up North? One of the great joys of being up here is the ever-changing seasons, and the variety of activities available to us as a result. So many of us weary of being cooped up in our homes, because of the weather and because of COVID-19, but days like this that dawn bright and crisp invite us to get out for a time, to take a walk or a drive or maybe a ride on a snowmobile, so let’s get up and go!
As hard as it might be to believe, we are at the end of January already! By the time our next note reaches your in-box, any number of forest animals, ranging from groundhogs to squirrels to whistlepigs, will have come out of their burrows to see the sun (or not…). The tradition is that if any one of these prognosticators sees his or her shadow, they will be frightened back into their burrows and winter will continue for another six weeks; bear in mind that Punxsutawney Phil’s accuracy rate is only about 39%, and also that the vernal equinox falls on March 20 this year – just over six weeks from February 2nd. Regardless of what Phil and his fellow woodland creatures have to say, we know that spring will come; we also know that Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent will come. And, we know with absolute certainty that Easter will come. It is in this certainty that we find our faith, trusting in the hope and the promise of the Resurrection that we celebrate on Easter Sunday. It is in our faith that we find the strength and the patience to overcome the pandemic, trusting always that God is guiding and protecting us every step of the way. Let us continue to offer prayers of thanksgiving for the vaccines that are being distributed, and that these vaccines appear to be effective against the ever-mutating strains of the virus. Let us give thanks to God for our first responders, our medical professionals, and all who have worked diligently to keep society functioning during these challenging times. God is good, all the time! And all the time, God is good!
Blessings,
Karen and Greg
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD,
the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4
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