Hold Onto God

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 20 BCP 234)

"while we are placed among things that are passing away" Yes, there is a lot changing in our world these days. None of us are sure about how things will look in the next month, the next year, the next decade. While we thought we had gotten the pandemic under control, we are now seeing a resurgence. While we thought we were making strides on slowing climate change, we can see by the weather-caused natural disasters that we have a long way to go. While we can acknowledge that the church needs to change too, it is hard to see it change so quickly. 

The Collect of the Day prays that in the midst of all that is changing we are able to hold onto the things which endure, that is our faith, God's grace and love, and the hope of the promises God has given us. We are not walking this path alone. When we focus on the parts of our lives that cannot be taken away from us, the craziness of our lives doesn't go away, but it doesn't make us feel as overwhelmed. When we ground ourselves in God on a daily, or even hourly, basis, we can remember that the most important parts of our lives cannot be taken away from us. 

So when you wake up in the morning and go about your day, strap on your faith, pack extra amounts of God's love and grace, keep in your pocket the promises of God and use them every time you need to. Stay focused on the blessings of God which cannot be taken from you. As Revelation 21:3-5a says, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’"