COMING HOME TOGETHER
For a little more than a year now, we have dealt with situations that have brought drastic changes to our everyday lives. While we may dislike some of the coping or adjusting actions we have had to take, we realize that we cannot go back to December 2019 and the “normal” lives we lived then. As we approach what appears to be a return to normal, we also realize that many of our attitudes, our concerns, and our habits and actions have changed. Our challenge is to evaluate and identify these changes and decide which to keep and which to discard.
All of us have been restricted or forced to alter the activities we previously engaged in, or to adjust the way in which we participated in those activities. Many of us work remotely. Very few of us travel. Teachers teach virtually, while students learn online. Retail shopping is done largely via computer, and home delivery of almost everything is flourishing. Can any of us remember the last time we saw a movie in the theater or tailgated before a ball game, or the last time we even went to a game? Fear of infection has made us more reclusive, more reliant on technology, and less involved as a community.
As we anticipate returning to normal, the shepherds at West Metro encourage each of you to evaluate where you have changed attitudes, activities, outlooks, and likely behaviors towards others. “Coming Home” is the theme we have chosen for 2021, because we long for a return to full-house worship, lots of classes, renewed activities, and a closeness within our church family while still reaching out to the community. We ask that everyone choose the activities, attitudes, and actions that will increase our faith in God’s promises, that will provide godly examples for others, and that will benefit our families and community while bringing glory to God.
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10
The Shepherds & Ministers