February has arrived whether we are ready or not. How did January fly by so quickly…? I still haven’t written down my goals for 2021! Although my goals are not written down, I have discovered my 2021 guide word…Courage.
“Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take COURAGE.”
Psalm 27:14
Many of you received a 2021 epiphany star word through your faith community but this year mine came to me from Psalm 27: 14, “Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take COURAGE.” Waiting (mostly impatiently) for my body to recover from major surgery has been a daily experience since August 2020. I had right knee replacement surgery on August 11th, followed by my left knee replaced on December 1st.
Here are some of courage lessons I am learning from my surgery recovery and also through a year of pandemic living!
Courage to Wait
Healing takes time and does not always occur within our timelines! I had planned to be back to work full time with Messy Church at the beginning of January however, my body/mind/soul did not agree with my timeline. Throughout this past COVID pandemic year, we have all waited…waited for things to get better…waited for the ‘surge’ to pass, waited for a vaccine waited for things to get back to ‘normal. I have re-discovered that having the courage to wait is a spiritual practice. When have you relied on the courage to wait as a spiritual practice this past year?
Courage to Trust
I was more impatient in the healing process with my second surgery recovery because I kept thinking I should be ‘further along’ as I compared it to my first recovery. It took courage to trust the process…daily exercises, twice weekly appointments with Sam, my physical therapist, a healthy diet, and TIME. What have you learned about the courage to trust over these past months?
Courage to Reach Out
Over the past three plus years that Messy Church USA has been in existence many wonderful and talented people have come into my life! It took courage to reach out to others and ask for help, especially for a person like me who falsely thinks that I need to do it all myself. A special thanks to Johannah Myers, our associate director and Robin Cannon, our social media consultant, our Board of Directors, my husband Lynn and many others who said yes and kept Messy Church USA going these past months. What are you learning about the courage to reach out to others for help?
Courage to Adapt
Adapting takes courage, waiting, trusting and reaching out! In my surgery recovery, I have adapted to a walker, to a cane, to trekking poles and finally trusting my new knees without any assistance to navigate my walks along the river. We have done much adapting in Messy Church USA in 2020. Looking through the 2020 goals that we had for Messy Church has been a lesson in courage (and the spiritual practice of laughter!). We have adapted our in-person training to an on-line format. We have begun monthly webinar sessions. How has trusting God given you the courage to adapt?
As this second month of 2021 begins, I pray for courage for you all. I give God thanks for bringing us through 2020 and trust God as we wait to see how 2021 continues to unfold.
May God’s peace surround you.
Roberta,
“Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take COURAGE, wait for the Lord.”
Psalm 27:14
