By another road

Happy New Year!

I love the start of a new year.  That magical time when we make new commitment to lose weight, read that book, or dare I say, even go to church more.  These promises we make to ourselves tend to fall on deaf ears by week two.  I struggle every year committing to commit.  It’s time I try something new.  It’s time I take a different road.

For this season of Epiphany, Abiding Presence will be taking another road.  The wise men took another road home to stray away from Herod and keep the location of the Christ child hidden from his eyes.  They intentionally took another road.  They knew that returning the same way would end with pain and great discomfort.

As you think about what lies ahead for you in this New Year, ask yourself, “What road am I taking?”  Are you taking the road that is easy and familiar?  Are you traveling the road of comfort, or are you willing to take another road and find comfort in the uncomfortable?  Can we respond like the wise men and travel away from those destructive forces in our lives. 

Maybe you drink or work too much. Maybe you have wanted to spend more time with your family. Maybe you are longing for some time to sit with God and nurture that relationship.  Take another road. Let us join the wise men and travel with confidence.  And whatever road you find yourself on, remember that there is One that is walking with us…on another road.

Pastor Steve