From the Pastoral perspective:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Time! I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately. Perhaps that’s a sign of aging … or a sign of or a by-product of this new task in ministry I have taken on among you and been involved with these past 5 months … or maybe it’s just the time of the year when we push our clocks back and get an extra hour of sleep.

Time! It’s one of those precious gifts of God that we take for granted. Like breathing and smelling and seeing and hearing. I guess we only miss it when we don’t have it any more.

Time! What we do with the time we have matters. It matters to God. It matters to those who love us. It matters to ourselves. It matters because what we do with our time affects our physical and mental health and well-being. It affects our ability to be there for our families and for others.

Time! Why do we spend so much of it doing things that really don’t matter? I’m sure each of us has his or her own list of things - of the addictions and diversions and trivia that we think will fill some void in us, but leave us empty instead.

Time! The time we spend with God - privately and publicly with others - is certainly the foundation that gives breadth and depth to all the rest of it. Regular worship and prayer and devotional time puts all the other time we have in perspective.

Time! I’ve never heard anyone say that they regretted not spending more time at the office or in the fields or climbing the ladder of success or sitting in front of the idiot box or trying to meet the endless demands and pressures of others. I have heard that people regret not spending time taking care of themselves and their health. I have heard that people regret not spending more time with their loved ones - spouse, children, parents, friends, etc. I have heard that people regret letting things come between them and faith-building activities like worship.

Time! It’s one of those precious gifts of God we take for granted. But, it’s not too late to change that. God’s blessings to you as you wrestle with making the best use of this precious gift.

For our mutual ministry in His Name,

Rev. Daniel Deutsch, Interim Pastor

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