I surmise that you, dear blog reader, are facing some, shall we say, life transitions? We as Christians, many of us reading this Lutheran Christians, do not like the word or the thought of the word change. We soft-pedal it, rename it things like transformation, transition, and growth. Let’s go with the last choice. I’m certainly not referring to the “battle of the bulge”, the girth around our midsection. Forgive, please, another generality, in presuming that you, dear blog reader, are a “Baby Boomer”. 55+’ers realize that the pounds don’t come off as easily. We are fast becoming our aged parents, complaining about growth. Even in what used to be dubbed “Slow-cala”, we are quickly becoming, say, “The Villages NW”.

Christian faith always means growing. Spiritually. As we, ahem, “mature”, we grow in faith and grace. There will always be a measure of respect in culture for us “old-timers” (except on the roadways). We are the wizened, “been there done that” generation. We do find that we have more time for volunteering, traveling, getting involved in church, etc. We can impart lessons learned that no amount of cultural and technological change can erase. The spiritual practices become more meaningful. These too we can impart to younger generations. Indeed, they are the most important things we can pass on.

The changes in life are, I believe, “hard-wired” into our selves. They are intended by God to be the natural order of things in this world. As we prepare more and more for the next world, may we not fight or resist growth but accept it as measures of grace. To my father’s surprise and thankfulness, he just turned 91. As a younger man, he could not have imagined seeing the year 2000. Yet here he still is, twenty-three years into the new millennium. He has grown ever closer to God, which is also how we are “programmed”. Lean in, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, to the growing, transformative grace, mercy, and unconditional love that are promised us through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Pastor Art