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A message from Joanna Roland

Entering a new year filled with hope

By Joanna Roland, preschool & kids learning

The year of 2008 was filled with many heartbreaking events and you never get used to the shock. A year ago, I could not imagine all that would happen in the world in 2008: Floods, war, terrorism, death, illness. These tragic events bring heartache, suffering, and confusion. How do we get past the bad stuff? What will await us in 2009?

I am somewhat familiar with those unexpected setbacks in life. Having a son diagnosed with cancer, placing aging parents in a nursing home, helping friends through divorce, and learning of so many young people facing serious health problems, has challenged me to live my life in new ways. I am often asked, “How do you get through the day? What do you say to God?”

For those of you who have had an opportunity to visit my home or office, you most likely have seen the key word scattered in the many nooks and crannies of my life. Any guesses? The word is hope.

Hope can be found in many places in the Bible. One of my favorites is from Romans. Romans 5:2-5 says, “God has brought us by faith into this experience of grace, in which we now live. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”

We have a choice in how we meet each new day, each moment. I thought I had a pretty good take on handling life and its situations. I was raised in a Christian home and I work at a church surrounded by all kinds of goodness. However I am somewhat of a control freak and like to be “in charge.” Not until I was faced with one of those gut-wrenching bumps in the road did I learn I am not in charge. I was numb. I could not sleep, eat, or think. I was walking through daily life in a fog. I know now the “control thing” was preventing me from finding a way to get through the day.

So the question, “How do I get through the day?” The Holy Spirit held me close in prayer late one evening and provided the answer. As I sat tucked in my bed holding my palm cross close to my heart, I heard these words. “Let go of the control, the darkness — let the light in and let God guide you.” I now center myself in the love of God and open my heart to peace. God is my strength and my guide. God is the promise that when life’s situations become difficult, relief is possible. I am comforted as I release my life into God’s care. I give thanks for life, for each new day. 

As I sit and write this column, we are in the midst of preparing for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The light of Jesus could not have been brighter than it was in the sweet voices and smiles of the children who shared the story in the manger at our recent Christmas Pageant. My hope emerges from the light of love ever present in Christ our Savior. It is my prayer that through my words and actions I too reflect the light of Jesus in my daily life.
 
As we enter the year 2009, I give thanks for God’s guiding spirit of love. And to you, the community of St. Paul that blesses me with your overflowing goodness, I pray that your hearts will be filled with hope and peace.

Joanna Roland,

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"...Jesus reduced the mark of a Christian to one word: 'By this all will know you are my disciples,' he said: 'if you LOVE one another.' The most subversive act the church can take is consistently to obey that command." ~Philip Yancey

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Source: ELCA New Service