Greetings Church, 

Well we have found ourselves in an exciting and sad time of year.Exciting in that, these last two months of the year are packed with opportunities to have fun as we find time to be with people and do celebratory things. Sad in that, it gets dark SO early! I’m kind of a fan of part one and, most definitely, not a fan of part two.

What to do? For me I attempt to employ a tactic that I use when I have a season that will take some time to get through, that I may not really want to be in. The tactic is hope… hope that where I find myself now won’t last… forever…

Hope is one of the secrets to making it in life. When we lose hope, we are in a desperate spot.  In Hebrews we read that hope is “an anchor," holding us firm even when life gets stormy. Hope is supernatural, it has to come from God, who’s above all the storms of life. 

Hope in storms demands we cling to God. Hope as daylight fills less of our days, for me, is found in knowing spring, and the longer days that go with it, is coming. If we can make it to the 21st of December we will turn a corner and start to get a few more seconds of daylight each day… AND, hold on here, if we can make it to New Years we’ll have 4 minutes… by mid January, it’ll be 30 mins!

So, as the sun sets earlier each day for a few weeks here… join me as I work to cling to the hope only God can give… it’ll make a difference…

God grant us hope!

Graig Austin, on Behalf of the Elder and Minister Team