Don't Let Go of This

In an interview a few months ago, I was asked, "What do you think is the number one challenge that faces our local community?"  I answered with something about the retention of young people.  

 That was August and it is now January, but I would like to retract my answer. I could not stop thinking about that question after the interview.  I would think about it as I drove around this community, as I chatted with other people living here, and as I worked at laying the foundation of a new church. Its really been bothering me that I did not answer that question differently, so I will here.  

I believe our problem here in Upstate NY, and anywhere in the United States, is a lack of hope.  And that is my final answer.  Friends, hope is what propels us into action and prevents us from feeling defeated.  It is hope that fuels creativity, risk-taking, optimism, and even love in our daily living.  Great things have been accomplished under the famous line, "I hope this works."  You see, without hope, we stay put and begin to resemble sticks in the mud.  We shrivel up and become useless.  We whine about what isn't going right and what could have gone better.

But WITH hope, we step out our front door and make a difference for someone else because we believe what we do really matters.  I would not have boarded a plane and gone to Jamaica for a mission trip if I did not believe that my presence made a difference.  I would not have driven 12 hours with 25 people to Salem, Maine 2 summers ago if we did not think our hammers, nails, long chats, and sorting clothes made a difference.  I do those things and ALL community outreach because I have hope that things can get better for people.  I am a pastor because I believe hope is all people need sometimes.  

And God offers us hope.  

Call me naive (go ahead, you won't be the first), but make sure that before you do, you try cooking a meal for someone who hasn't eaten in weeks.  

When we begin assuming that "It is what it is" is always how it will be, we lose something.  Because what makes humanity so great is our perseverance...our hope, our courage, and our dreams.  We move forward in spite of what may be dull and ugly around us.  We move forward, hoping something will work out because if all we have is the past and the negative thoughts in our own heads then we will never get anywhere.  

I pray you begin to have more hope.  My hope for you is that you feel your actions DO matter and that you, little ol' you, can make a big difference in this world.  Because friend, you can.  

Shalom,

Pastor Annette