I use my various coffee mugs as memory prompts. Every morning, I choose one that brings a memory of a person, place and time, or an idea I need to reflect upon. Some are funny and cheer up my day. One reads, “Happiness is a cup of coffee and a good book”. I am looking for one that says,
“All I need is a book and a good cup of coffee.” Silly, I know, but it makes me chuckle.
One says, “Blessed” and another reads “Let it go.” When I first saw it, I imagined that it meant let go of things like anger, or past hurts, or revenge. I was thinking that the phrase “let it go” was about releasing all the pain and problems of the past. But lately as I have contemplated my retirement, which is fast approaching, I have thought about “Let it go” from a different vantage point. Now I know that I must let go of a role in a congregation I have come to love. My wonderful experience of working as your pastor is the opposite of any painful experience of the past. It is rather a treasured, even sacred time which is among the treasures of my life.
The future for me and for all of you is in the loving hands of God and we can rejoice at what has been and rejoice at what will yet be. The path of God’s blessing is still before us as it always will be.