i’m struggling with the fact that many of my contemporaries seem to be dreaming their futures in countries other than our own.
there are just so many reasons to go. i really want to believe that i will stay (no matter what) but hey, you never know. never say never.
but, if I’m going to stay, then i want to stay well. i don’t want to stay, but full of cynicism, negativity and pessimism. I want to stay with hope. I want to stay, with a confidence that I have something to contribute to the country of my birth.
same with the community of faith of my birth. i am fast realising that people of my age are not commonly found in churches today. we are a scarce commodity. not more valuable for our scarcity unfortunately. the generation of which I am a part has largely lost faith in organised religion.
there are just so many reasons to leave. i really want to believe that i will stay (no matter what) but hey, you never know. never say never.
but, if I’m going to stay, then i want to stay well. i don’t want to stay, but full of cynicism, negativity and pessimism. I want to stay with hope. I want to stay, with a confidence that I have something to contribute to the community of faith i call home.
so here’s to engagement - to growing confidence that will provide the platform from which to reach out - to keep on giving and investing and contributing and venturing…
and here’s to good news - the stories that are so often be neglected in our negative and previously-privileged milleu.
and here’s to faith - that desperately scarce commodity in a world of bad news stories. faith is to keep on in the face of the barage of reasons not to!
and lastly, here’s to compassion - a distinctive response to bad and painful and disappointing news in a world of pessimism and negativity. it might sound cliched to say “let’s pray about these situations” but if prayer is primarily about learning the heart of God (and not trying to influence the heart of God) then compassion will always be the marked and distinctive response of the community that bears faith and hope and charity.
here’s to this planet and this body, this town and this country, this place and this space…
right now,
and forever.