Reality Check

       We have been having wonderful weather for harvest these last weeks; so good that beet harvest is over, and many people are done with beans (soybeans) too.  One farmer was even heard to say that beet harvest 'was fun this year'!  Perhaps he was remembering last year and others when farmers struggled to harvest in the midst of cold, snow, wet slush, wind, and tons of heavy, slippery, sticky mud.  In contrast, this fall has been filled with days of sunlight and warmer breezes drying the fields after the rain and standing water left from September.
       Then Monday morning came cold, wet, windy, and gray bringing even the threat of occasional snow flakes further north.  It was a reality check.  Summer is over and the winter that is coming will be cold and will bring winds and snow; after all, this is northern Minnesota.   As much as we would like the warmer sunny weather to stay, we have another winter to get through before spring comes again.
       Many of the bumps and curves that we run into on our life's journey function as reality checks; they wake us up to the limits of life.  They can be a simple as finding gray hairs as we comb our hair or as hard as the illness or death of someone whom we love.  These times can be incredibly discouraging and difficult but they can also become times when our faith grows stronger as we realize our need for the power and comfort of the love of God.   We can moan about our foolishness and helplessness or we can simply and gratefully come to God.
       The reality checks of life can also become reminders of the mission we have each been given: to bring the good news of God's love, hope, and healing to those in need.  Our faith journey is not fulfilled by searching for our own inner peace but by living to bring God's peace to the world.  The world will not wait for us to get ourselves perfected before we share our faith.  People are hurting, ill, alone, and in need now.
       As a student chaplain, the first time I was sent into a room to be with someone whose spouse was dying, I had no idea of what to do or to say.  All the big words, the hard work, and complicated theologies I was learning at seminary left me feeling totally unskilled and speechless so I got coffee and tissues as we waited for news from the doctor; I stayed and we waited together.   I began to learn then what I know for certainty now; the biggest gift begins when we step outside of ourselves and dare to care for someone else.  It continues when we dare to simply be together.
        God does not ask us to be perfect but comes to us even in our weakness, loves us as we are and sends us out to serve just as Jesus was sent.  It can be as simple as bringing cans of food for the local food pantry, fixing a flat tire, or sitting with someone even when you don't know what to say.  The Word that we bring even in our simplest acts is the eternal Word of hope in Jesus Christ.  Read 1 Peter 1:23-25.