​Proverbs 16: 3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Do you find yourself wafting between these two verses like I do? One day it feels like everything is going right and then the next day…the Plague of Frogs has descended on our plans. One minute we are rejoicing in the sun and then next day we are grumbling when we see our newly planted pansies covered and frozen in snow. One day we were all rejoicing in worship and then the next day we were trying to figure out how to log on to FaceBook just to see a familiar face…and FaceBook needs a password.

Make a plan and watch God laugh, they say. That doesn’t sound much like the proverbial success that we were planning on, does it? I sometimes that if I hear one more person say, “This is the new normal” I will just sit down and…and…and what? Scream? Cry? Laugh until I cry?

We know that we want to “get back to” where we left off on March 16. And we know that we can’t. So, then, what do we do? In this time of lament and laughter we do need to re-group and go back to what we were working on and look to the Lord in our commitments. Look to the Lord in our questions, curiosities and hesitations. Look to the Lord in all that we were doing so that we know how to ask, “Have you forsaken me…or strengthened me?”

During a time of mediation this week God reminded me through that still small voice that I have the tools that it takes to get through whatever comes my way. Tools to think deeply, reflect mightily and ask myself the tough questions. And one of those tools is indeed the ability to lament. It is also the ability to laugh at the smallest of blessings…especially the still small voice that guides me. As we go forward let me remind you that it is OKAY to lament…and then laugh. Though these two verses seem to be the ones that I find myself reciting almost daily, the one that bubbles up from within the lament is Ecclesiastes 3, “There is a time for every season under the sun.” Right now we make plans and watch God laugh. That’s our season, and I am here with you…right smack dab in the middle of it with you, lament and laughter and all.

Peace,
Pastor Pam

When the Spirit overwhelms us, we must respond. When we are frozen in place and cannot move, that is when we must listen. Just sit and listen. We cannot move and yet we must respond.
 
Silence everything and wait for Wisdom to raise her mighty head, and we will see the direction that She is leading us to, the direction to go in. Just wait. And then respond. The direction comes so clearly that we feel that when we move, we are moving in a dream. We will ask, “Is this a dream? Am I really doing this?” and we will receive confirmation that we are doing the right thing.
 
This takes work. Work to separate ourselves from asking for advice, from seeking a sign. We move forward in a way that is mystical and yet real. And when we have done what Spirit has told us to do… yes told us, not asked us, we will know that we have done the right thing.
 
As we wander through this life, we are not in it alone, we are in it together. Together with Spirit and the other. The other who needs us to listen and respond. This is not about us. It is not about what we want or need. It is about what the other needs and Spirit knows that and draws us into the relationship of care.
 
Spirit comes to us in Truth. A Truth that is as pure and unselfish as the love that confounds us and confuses us all. A love that sometimes we doubt, question, and run from. But it is through love that Spirit speaks, and that love is not selfish, it is all encompassing.
 
Let yourselves act in confidence…through Spirit, Truth and love.
​
Peace,
Pastor Pam

Have you missed the church calendar and wondered what's happening in the RLCC virtual church world?  Well, we have created a "virtual" calendar to help you find out!  You can check it out and/or download a copy of the calendar here.  Enjoy! 

Psalm 121:1 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains-- where does my help come from?”

“It is DONE!” The three favorite words of any student looking at a looming assignment. For me it was my Environmental Ethics paper… all 5000 words of it. It is such a good feeling of accomplishment when we can say, “It is DONE!” For many of us we have taken on tasks while being sequestered at home during this pandemic. Things like cleaning out closets, washing windows and cleaning up our yards. After each task is completed, we stand back and say, “It is DONE!”

That is how I felt this afternoon when my “word counter” hit 5085. DONE. SEND. RELAX…and then…repeat. The next two papers are not as long or detailed, but I know that after each one I will say, “It is DONE.”
We are all looking forward to the day when we can look COVID19 in the face and say, “YOU ARE DONE.” But what we also must realize is that we are going to continue with those next steps…relax…repeat. What?? Repeat?! Yes, we now realize the ease and extent of how a pandemic works. The scientists and theologians both agree…we will be repeating this someday. This is just the beginning of a new way of the world. No longer is it just the flu that we must be aware of.

How do we relax then? I know that once my doctorate is finished it will be another item on my long list of lifelong goals checked off, not unlike cleaning out my closets, so I can relax. But knowing that somewhere out there on the horizon is another pandemic looming? I look to the Word for my instruction on how to relax. And I lift up my eyes to the mountains, knowing that God will move them for us…again. This morning as I shared my thoughts on Good Morning, Red Lodge I realized that I said that the mountain had moved out of the mist. And I did not correct myself. God can and will move the mountains for us.

We just have to relax…and stand still long enough to see them move.
May God’s peace surround you as you relax…and stand still long enough in trust that God will move that next mountain just like God has all of the others before this one.

Peace
Pastor Pam ​