Our slow journey back to church took some wide, reckless, even dangerous turns along the way. Years after, I know what I would say to someone else who wanders from the church, “I wandered, too, but during all that time, God never turned away from me.” That’s the truth as I know it. Even when the community of faith had begun to feel to me like foreign territory, God was at work through church people who, when the time was right, would receive and even welcome my “out of the box” curiosity and creativity. The hands gently scooping me up in a secure hold would be holy ones.
I’ve learned that we are all prone to wander at times – perhaps even you. When you feel that urge, stay awake to watch and listen for God’s new plan. God always has one! And don’t settle for anything less than a community of faith that, even while sticking together, makes room for those of us who don’t fit as snugly as others, those who simply have to climb out of the box now and then.
This message is excerpted from “Out of the box” by Jennifer Ginn in the July/August 2024 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Birgitta of Sweden, renewer of the church, 1373.
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