Weekly Reflection, Sunday, May 27, 2018
By: Matt Rawls, Director of Youth Ministries
Happy Summer!
Memorial Day weekend is the start of seersucker, swimming pool, and the all things warm and summer-y. And it’s the time when things start to slow down.
Unless, of course, you’re participating in youth mission trips this summer. In that case, it’s time to get busy!
We have the trips. We have the planning. We have preparation. And we have the fundraisers.
Both slowing down and speeding up have a place in the spiritual rhythm of the soul. As the writer of Ecclesiastes says, “there is a time for every matter under the sun.” Whether summer for you means slowing down or speeding up, think of that time as an opportunity for spiritual discipline. For those of us who will be especially busy, it’s a time to reflect on doing the work of building God’s kingdom on earth. For those slowing down, it’s a time for contemplation and reflection, healing and meditation.
But if you find yourself slowing down, I encourage you to think about how you can help those who are not slowing down, yet. Think about us in your prayers or with your wallets or even with your time over the next several weeks as we have the Yard Sale and Rent-a-Kid fundraisers.
Just like there are different seasons, there are different ways we all participate in mission. When our youth go out on mission trips, they go as representatives of YOU. As representatives of this whole church and community. We’re all in this together. Regardless of if you go as a participant or you “stay, pay, pray” (as my dad always joked), you are still a part of the team. You are a part of the Body of Christ that is represented at St. Mary’s.
Let that mindset stay with you, wherever and however you spend the summer.