Dear brothers and sisters,
Today is a great day. The sun is shining, and I worked out this morning. At one point, I paused in the workout to add more weight to my bar. When I picked it up, I couldn’t believe how light it still felt. I thought, ‘I am getting strong!’ And that was a good feeling.
But Sunday was a doozy. Gathering with our church family is typically the highlight of my week. I wouldn’t miss it! But with the new gathering space, I am feeling discouraged, and I know some of you are feeling it, too. So I am sending you a bit of hope and grace today.
I feel like I was bumping into people, letting my kids down, sending out bad jokes, talking too much–my basic insecurities. At one point, I shoved myself into a storage closet at the same time with Brett, Uly, and a storage cabinet because I thought my signs were in there. I felt so embarrassed for not waiting my turn–especially because the signs weren’t even in there!
The point is, we have never done this before. Even if you have launched a church in the set-up/tear-down format before, you’ve never done it at Crossroads Academy on Central Street. You’ve never done it with this team. You’ve never done it with all your current obligations, responsibilities, and dependents. We have never done this before. And so, it is hard.
This is hard, and we’re going to have to learn and grow and endure and buy doorstops and apologize and laugh about our mistakes. We’re going to cry a little and then a lot. Our fears will be exposed; we will be exposed! But here is the gift: if we let people see us, if we let the Lord see us, we could be healed. We could be loved. We could be strengthened for the long haul.
I had this thought during the biceps track this morning: “I can’t keep moving my arms!” It was swiftly followed by this thought, “This is how I get stronger. I have to keep pushing!” In other words, growth is the fruit of perseverance. In our discomfort and anxiety, we keep showing up, asking for the Lord’s grace to get us through one more Sunday. We ask him to help us enjoy the gift he is giving us.
Our weekly gatherings are going to get better. They’ll become easier, in part because church volunteers will develop systems, but also in part because we’ll get used to this new thing we’re doing. Your tolerance will grow. Let’s keep showing up, asking for help, forgiving one another, and reminding each other of the loving Father who is leading us through this all.
And for Pete’s sake, keep me out of those storage closets!
With love,
Laura Hays
“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Hebrews 6:11-12
