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Dear MCC,
In our Advent & Christmastide Devotional book, this week’s reflection prompt is: “Life often unfolds in ways that surprise us, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Have you felt God’s presence when your life took an unexpected turn?”
Now that we find ourselves in a new year, filled with new possibilities, we are reminded that the path we are on generally isn’t a straight path. Are you open to unexpected changes that can shift and move your life in 2025?
This week’s worship theme is “The Road Isn’t Straight,” this Sunday we will celebrate Epiphany, and you will receive your special word for the year, knows as a star word. If you are unable to be in service on Sunday but would like a star word sent to you, just reply to this email and let me know!
As we prepare for Epiphany, I invite you to read the final poem of the season, from A Sanctified Art’s poems and prayers for Advent.
Field Notes
By Sarah Speed
With tears in your eyes,
you name all the bumps
and zigzags your life has taken.
With clenched teeth
and a hummingbird pulse,
you wake up
and wonder—how did I get here?
In the last 40 days of
desert wandering, you say
you haven’t heard God’s voice once.
You say you miss when God was close,
when God used to sing the harmony line.
So you yell at the sky,
begging God to drop a pin,
to name the road,
to draw you a map.
You lament the way this life isn’t easy.
You ask me—was the road ever straight and narrow,
or was that all a lie?
But then you crest the mountain,
and I don’t hear from you for a while,
because God was growing
in the lilac field
on the other side of the hill.
God was scattered
among the pebbles
of the road you never planned to take.
Isn’t it amazing, you say,
there are a million roads home
and God walks every single one of them.
You are loved,
Rev. Jakob
he/him/his (Why list pronouns? Click here to learn more!)
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