Dear Church Family,
I would like to thank you for your love and support during my recovery of full knee replacement surgery. The pain I had before surgery is gone but I was given a new set of pain to deal with that will be temporary. I have knee exercises to do every day. I am going to Physical Therapy twice a week and to Functional Fitness twice a week where I work on getting more flexion in my knee. Sleep has often been elusive for me since my surgery but hopefully things will soon get back to normal. I still am working on driving. If someone would like to volunteer to take me around to our homebound folks, please let me know.
I was reflecting on Jesus being out in the wildness for 40 days and 40 nights. I think we all have times in our lives when we feel discombobulated, lost, isolated or alone. We may wonder why certain things have happened in our lives, why we lose people that we love, why others have hurt us or why we have hurt someone with our words or action. We may do a life review. Why am I here? What am I to do with my remaining time on earth? How can I better serve God?
When folks feel like they are out in the wilderness they may feel distant from God and listen to the voice of the tempter. If this happens it is time to dive into the Bible and read encouraging passages of God’s love for us. It is a time to pray and tell God everything that is on your heart. If we focus on our own problems day and night, it is easy to get discouraged. God tells us to hand all of our burdens to God. Let go and let God. One of the best ways to get over our own issues is to help others. When we focus on helping others our own burdens are lessened.
We find ourselves in the season of Lent when we are to work on making our relationship with God better by spending more in prayer, Bible Study, and service. We may give something up like our favorite hobby or television show and spend that extra time getting closer to God.
Whatever you are facing in life right now, I pray your faith will gird you up to withstand temptations that will hurt your relationship with God and the people around you. The good news is when we fail, when go the wrong direction, we have a God that loves us and will forgive us when we turn from our sins.
May your Lenten season be meaningful and powerful. If you are feeling like you are in the wilderness, may the love of God surround you and bring you peace.
In Christ’s love,
Pastor Scott Prouty
