I am sure August 1st passed you by without much fanfare (unless it was your birthday or anniversary; if so, congratulations!). It was a regular Monday filled with Monday type of meetings and events. I was in the midst of preparing for a trip that would end with leaving one of our kids about 12 hours away. But we knew that was happening, so it was no surprise.  But then it dawned on me…

I have been the Senior Pastor of Grace Community Church for two years. Has it already been that long? In some ways, our move doesn’t seem that long ago but in others, it feels like we have been here much longer. It got me thinking and reflecting on these past two years and what has happened. Here are some thoughts that have gone through my head the past couple of days.

It has been hard. A global pandemic will do that to a person. Navigating protocols, virtual schooling, live streaming and a host of other new parts of life while trying to adjust to a new place was not easy. There were losses for all of us as a church family:  loss of time with family, loss of normal life celebrations, loss of social interaction. We saw some of our church family move on to other places. On top of that, we had to face the struggle of loving each other when we held fiercely different opinions on a whole host of issues.

We are grateful. In the midst of the hard parts, you all have loved us well. You have welcomed us as a part of your family. You have embraced the sorrowful parts of our story and made them your own. You have accepted my often feeble efforts at preaching and pastoring as I have adjusted to the new role of being a Senior Pastor. You have spoken words of encouragement and backed those words up with tangible demonstrations of your love and care. We know we are prayed for.

Tonight, at our Session meeting, I was reflecting on a conversation I had with the elders during my interview process. They asked me what fears or concerns I had about making the move from Texas back to Virginia. I told them that it would be hard to leave a church where I had ministered for 15 years and knew that if something happened to me, my family would be cared for well. It was nothing against you all; I just didn’t know you. Two years in, I was able to look at these brothers of mine, whom I have come to love and appreciate, and state with great confidence that I no longer have those fears. We are grateful because we know we are loved.

God is good. We speak those words often in our times together. They are simple and yet profound. And in the midst of two trying years, we have seen visible reminders of this reality. Two years in, on any given Sunday, you can look around the sanctuary and half of the people there were not with us a year or so ago. God has faithfully brought new people to join with us in worshiping and serving our great God.

And in case you haven’t noticed, some of those new people are pretty young. Hearing children raise their voices to join with us in worship and seeing them raise their hands to receive the benediction is truly a delight. And the sounds of children laughing after service as they play with new and old friends alike is music to my ears. We’ve even baptized a baby or two.

Saints, two years in, there is no place I’d rather be. It would be a lie to say it has all been easy. It hasn’t. I have failed you in numerous ways in these two years. Yet, you have been very gracious and kind and have modeled Christ’s love to me. I hope I have done so in some small ways for you as well. So, here’s to the first two years. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in year three!

You know, if you think of all God has done in the past two years and how much we have to be thankful for as a church family, can you imagine what it would be like to think about what God has done in the past 25 years? That would be awesome to do. Oh. Wait. We are doing that! October 7-9 will be a grand time of remembering and celebrating God’s faithfulness to GCC. Put it on your calendar if you haven’t already and if you know folks who are still in the area who have been part of GCC in the past, invite them to join us!