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| Movie Discussion Group (Zoom): Mon, 2:00 PM
WINGS Book Study Group (Zoom): Tue, 12:00 PM
Lessons in Truth Class (Zoom): Tue, 7:00 PM
Wednesday "Faith Lift" Meditation: 7:00 PM Table Talk Thursday (Zoom): 12:00 PM
Exodus Class (Zoom): Thur, 3:00 PM
Sunday Service: 10:45 AM
Sunday Social (Zoom): 12:00 PM |
| | WINGed Words The Reverend Cynthia Mackey, UCC Minister of Education |
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Hi Everyone,
Happy Tuesday! I hope you are all well! So, what am I thinking about this week? I have been thinking about Spring. Now, I know that if any of you are reading this north of the Florida border, you are probably thinking, “What is she talking about?” However, here it is beginning to feel like Spring. The air is dry and there are many sunny and days with near cloudless skies. The mornings are cool and the afternoons warm and with low humidity. These are the months that we Floridians’ treasure. However, it is also the month, one year ago, that all of our isolation and loss began.
One year ago, I was preparing for my annual Spring Break Cruise while a giant freight train was barreling, figuratively, at the whole world! One year ago, this next week is when my husband had the first signs of pericarditis, which eventually hospitalized him twice. However, the blessing of time is that he has healed from that and we have survived lockdowns and masks and the loss of friends and social isolation and take out food, no travel, political and social upheaval, and are still strong, well and safe. And so have all of you!
This reminds me of the reading in the Daily Word from last Thursday entitled Protected. The affirmation was, “I feel safe and secure in the love and warmth of God.” The reading goes on to remind us that wherever I am, God is, and I am safe. When I keep my thoughts focused on God, I have the perspective that outer conditions are temporary, and the presence and power of God is the only enduring Reality. These ideas always bring my breathing and blood pressure down. Knowing that no circumstance in the world or in my life is greater or more constant than God, gives me peace and the patience to go through oh so many seeming trials. The reading ends with a powerful quote from Proverbs 29:25: “The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure.” When I read, that I realized that there really are two possible meanings to the first part. I can be afraid of others or I can let the fears that others have ensnare me, and, either way, fear can be so contagious—at least as contagious as a virus!
So, the idea of Spring in the year 2021 is quite appealing. In Eric Butterworth’s book Celebrate Yourself! he devotes an entire chapter to Spring. It is titled “Suddenly It is Spring!” However, he makes the point in the chapter that there is nothing sudden about it. He says that life did not stop during the cold and less colorful winter. Life is the “ever evolving of that which is involved, the constancy of growth and renewal.” The end product we see is the budding leaves and flowers of Spring. Also, if we hear a very accomplished musician, we hear the end product, not realizing the hours of practice and preparation that occurred in the unseen. One quote from that chapter really stood out to me. Butterworth says, “All that you can be you are now. You cannot become a spiritual being, or become a child of God, because you have always been these; you have never been anything else.”
So, this Spring we have vaccines to celebrate and with them come new freedom and the ability for us to be together. However, the vaccines also did not suddenly appear. They are the product of ten years of research on the technology that was quickly applied to this particular virus when it appeared. Divine timing?
So, in honor of Spring Break, next week I am taking time to spend with my husband, since he is off for a week, so WINGed Words will be on Spring Break, but I will be back the following Tuesday! (Wings will still meet on zoom, Tuesday at 12:00.) In the meantime, remember life never stops; it is ongoing and ever evolving in and through us because we are spiritual beings.
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| | If you'd like to join us on Zoom, the login info is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81007092426?pwd=SlUrRzU3MWhpZEx2bW96NTNlbW1tZz09
Meeting ID: 810 0709 2426
Passcode: 865284
Peace, Love and Happy Spring Break!
Cynthia
Today’s
photos are of spring flowers and swans. The first two come from Leeds
Castle in Kent, England and the second two are from the beautiful
coastal town of Honfleur on the northern coast of France near Le Havre. |
| | | | | | | | | | | Your Weekly Affirmation:
“THE CHRIST IN ME KNOWS HOW TO HEAL. AS I PRAY, I REMEMBER THAT, THROUGH THE CHRIST WITHIN, I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO HEAL.”
THANK YOU, GOD! |
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