Pastor’s January Message
Dear Friends and Family of Hilton Baptist Church,
Normally I am not overly fond of celebrating the New Year. If it wasn’t for Karen (who loves to stay up until midnight and ring in the new year) I would be in bed fast asleep. However, I must admit that this year I am looking forward to leaving 2022 behind on December 31st. This past year has not been an easy one for me and I am hopeful that 2023 will be better.
As I reflect on the challenges I faced this past year, I see something that I couldn’t see at the time but I do now. During some of the most difficult moments of this past year I will admit I found my faith in God to be wavering.
Normally I accept that life doesn’t always go as planned and sometimes we get knocked down. However, in this past year there were moments it felt as if not only was I being knocked down, but I kept getting kicked while I was down there. I could relate to the words of Psalm 13 as translated in “The Message”:
“Long enough, GOD— you’ve ignored me long enough. I’ve looked at the back of your head long enough. Long enough I’ve carried this ton of trouble, lived with a stomach full of pain”
If that wasn’t enough, there were moments I lived with the guilt of wondering “How can I be the spiritual leader of a church when my own faith is so shaky?” Only recently has the fog of this discouragement started to lift and I’m beginning to see cracks of sunlight again.
Upon reflection I see this may have been a season of pruning. It hurt but also may have been necessary for something I am unaware of just yet. Franciscan priest Richard Rohr wrote something in a book entitled “Everything Belongs” that resonated with me:
“These dark periods are good teachers. Religious energy is in the dark questions, seldom in the answers. Answers are a way out, but that is not what we are here for. But when we look at the questions, we look for the opening to transformation. Fixing something doesn’t usually transform us. We try to change events in order to avoid changing ourselves. We must learn to stay with the pain of life, without answers, without conclusions, and some days without meaning. That is the path, the perilous path of true prayer.”
As I enter into 2023 there are a few things I’d like to attempt to be sure this time of pruning wasn’t wasted. #1 – I want to read more. Much of the reading I do is for my “job”, I’d like to do more reading just for me. #2 – Someone told me recently they are going to read the entire Bible in 2023. I realized it has been a long time since I read the Bible cover to cover and so I am going to attempt this myself in the upcoming year. #3 – I want to improve my praying. Too often it feels as if I’m just skimming the surface when there are greater depths to which I could go.
I wonder, what goals can you set for yourself this upcoming year that will help you through the pruning seasons preparing you for more abundant growth?
In peace and grace,
Dan
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