The River UMC Podcasts

October 21, 2009

‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
Matthew 22:36-38

Hibernation season is here. While we humans don’t technically sleep through winter, (and I bet that many of us would love to) we do have our own way of withdrawing from the world. The initial chill of autumn sends most of us outdoors to carve pumpkins and watch falling leaves, but eventually we are pulled back toward warm fireplaces and conversation. This transitional season draws us into greater contact with each other as we are closed in together for the winter. And we get to spend more time face to face with the things that really matter.

The most important things in our lives will have a heartbeat. They will be the kind that can give and receive love. Whether your family is large, small, furry or feathered you probably already know this truth; that the relationships we nurture will in turn sustain us.

This season gives us some wonderful opportunities to practice this principle. Halloween, my personal favorite, is just around the corner. I am looking forward with embarrassing enthusiasm to dressing my kids in costumes and taking them trick-or-treating. Thanksgiving and Christmas are holidays that are difficult to truly celebrate alone. They beg for company and connection. That’s the nature of holiday – meaning holy day – to draw us toward what is important. To celebrate the love of God and the love of other people.

As we move into this new season, I pray that our activities and our schedules will be true reflections of what is most important to us. That we will demonstrate by our calendars the things that we really love. That we will embrace what really matters in our lives as we feel the heartbeat of the season.

Blessings,
Nancy

Welcome to the River United Methodist Church. We are a new congregation in southeast Forsyth county. Learn more about us at our website.