“Life can only be understood backwards, but it can only be lived forwards.”
~ Soren Kierkegaard
Spiritual writer Clifford Rawley, on a trip to China, was journeying on the Yangtze River when he noticed an unusual sight: old shoes floating by. He learned these old shoes were not careless litter, but were part of a ritual of releasing the past and receiving the future. It was explained to him “that when people suffer illness, unemployment, or divorce they let go of the past and its painful memories by putting their old shoes in the river. With new shoes they hope to walk into a better future.”
This Sunday at 9:00am and 11:00 at MCCDC we welcome the first Sunday of the New Year. Our scriptures from Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 and Revelation 21:1-6 point to the opportunities for 2015. I believe that the culmination of our daily choices create the ultimate impact of our lives.
The poet of Ecclesiastes reminds us that “There is a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens” (3:1). For some in the MCCDC community, this New Year is a time for giving birth. For others it is a time for searching. Among us there are those living the range of times: “a time for crying and a time for laughing, a time for mourning and a time for dancing. . .” (3:4-5).
Wherever you find yourself during this time, life can only be lived forward. Living forward, during low times or high times, is a choice. It’s your turn to make the choice to live forward.
MCCDC is a community to partner with you through the seasons. We are also here to strengthen your spiritual tools to empower you to make consistent choices for a stronger future. We are here to support each other. Looking ahead to 2015, what “old shoes” no longer serve you and need to be released? What “new shoes” will help you move forward, even though they may need a “breaking in” time? As we enter 2015, it is your turn and our turn to live with love and wholeness.
See you this Sunday. . .the first Sunday of 2015!
Faithfully,
Rev. Dwayne
