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| Isaiah Manuscript |
God has some strong words in response to the people's charge of being distant and absent, but then he says,
"I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating."
Present and future tense are used - is this happening now or later? What do we make of this? As a group, we wrestle with how things have not been made right yet, shalom is not fully here (see Kira's post below to see the heavy things we're encountering). And yet God is clearly saying he has already started his restoration project.
"Where have we seen God creating new things this summer?" Gretchen asks. And we quickly note the following things:
- New hope for relationships as they were meant to be
- A church friend's testimony of finding God in prison and living a new life now
- Testimonies of several pastors who had been drug addicts but are now our role models
- More joy, peace, and new thoughts in us
- God literally provided food, good food for us, in a week when we had to pay a car-towing fee of $250
- New attitude of a homeless woman toward her kids (from calling them "cheat" and "snitch" to being able to express love and care)
- Basically every day at the service sites - Water Street Ministries, Arbor Place teen center, Church World Service, and Transitional Living Center
- Forgiveness after deep times of lamenting sin (ours and the world's)
- Vulnerability and accountability developed on our team through doing conflict with each other
- New eyes to see the reality around us - brokenness and beauty
- New global perspective as we learned from refugees and our urban neighbors
- New boldness and experiences that give us confidence - especially as we learned from In the Light Ministries, the church we attended
- God breaking out of the boxes we've had him in
- New closeness with God in prayer
God, help us hold on to your words as we live in the tension of "now but not yet fully." You are not done with us or this world; teach us the ways of real, deep HOPE for the rest of our days.
As I was reading this, Celeste called home! I can sense the bittersweet mood as things wind down for your group. I do pray that the life changes you've all experienced will stay with you -- that's a tough one, anticipating the return to the "old normal." And it's always hard to say goodbye to a group that has become close through shared experiences. Let's pray for the joy of being yeast just about to be stirred into the world as you all go your separate ways! Blessings to you all.
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