Message from Rev. Melanie for February 2022

 

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
   whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
   sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
   and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
   and it does not cease to bear fruit.


Jeremiah 17:7-8

As I sit in my office preparing for the week, I keep finding myself looking out the window at all the green, the trees, the grass, even a few early blooming plants with bright yellow flowers.  The grass and the flowers will come and go with the seasons, growing up quickly when it rains and going to seed and fading just as quickly.  The trees, though, the trees send roots deep into the earth or across a wide area so that they keep standing tall, year after year, rainy season after rainy season and dry season after dry.  Only the most severe droughts will harm them.

People are like this too. If we have faith that runs deep, if we rely on our hopes and our beliefs, we too can weather cycles of happiness and sadness, togetherness and loneliness, cheerfulness and grief.

We have felt weighted down by this pandemic for nearly two years.  We have gone through cycles of thinking we were almost past it and discovering that it is still a very real problem.  e are going to have to dig deep, keep digging deep, to find joy and grace in a time when it is easy to give up and to give in to despair.

Be like the trees, my friends.  Reach down deep and reach out wide for sustenance.  Send your branches forth to provide shady comfort for those nearby.  We have weathered storms before, we can weather this one too, and soon the rain will return and our grief and loneliness will abate and we will once again be showered with the blessings of singing together and hugging one another and breathing the same air.

--
Rev. Melanie Weiner
Senior Minister
Skyland Community Church
(408)353-1310
___________________________________________________________

Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ
25100 Skyland Road
Los Gatos, CA 95033
phone: 408-353-1310
USPS mail: Skyland Church
P.O. Box 245
Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245

Website 


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