Experiencing Joy and Small Graces

Dear brothers and sisters,

Charley and I have been reflecting on the significant changes in our family’s life over the past few months. Unsurprisingly, Leighton has introduced many new experiences. Whether planning travel around nap times or judging all restaurants by whether or not they have a changing station in the bathroom, ​we are once again experiencing life in challenging ways. Who would have thought that going to the grocery store could take so much​

Pastor McLane Stone

preparation? Comparing our lives B.L. (Before Leighton) to A.L. (After Leighton), we sometimes wonder at the mystery of time and space that existed in our home when we were a one-child family.

While the major changes in our life are often the most obvious, it’s the little changes that have brought the most joy. I no longer dread the sound of my alarm clock because I know that I get to be the one to see that smiling face looking up from the crib in the dim morning light. I love watching my little boy get passed around Krueger Hall between Sunday services. There are many other small moments in my day where I experience great joy, and all of them feel like small graces—good gifts from a loving Father.

As I read the four Gospels, I’m struck by the fact that so much of Christ’s ministry occurs in these small moments of everyday life. Certainly, turning water into wine is a spectacular occurrence, but it takes place in the context of a simple wedding, a moment that finds Jesus surrounded by family and friends. In John 21, Jesus reveals himself to his disciples as the risen Lord, not as a great king robed and crowned on his throne, but as a brother and friend sitting around a warm fire sharing in good food and conversation.

My prayer for you this coming year is that you experience these small graces in your own life and take the time to celebrate them. We sometimes forget that through the power of the Holy Spirit Christ is present in our lives at all times. Though he is certainly at work in the “big” moments, his love and mercy are no less present in the mundane, day-to-day experiences that we often take for granted. These moments frame our lives as we encounter a God who loves us beyond anything we could imagine or expect.

As we enter into a new year, let our hearts be tuned to God’s movement. Each day, he calls us to respond to his good gift of grace, and in our response, share it with a world that desperately needs it. May we pursue his Kingdom with love and hope, always placing his Word before us.

In courage and grace,
Pastor McLane