Greetings Siblings in Christ,
Easter greetings to you all! We are now entering into the month of May, and it is an exciting month! The flowers are blooming. The weather is getting warmer, and we are nearing the end of the school year. Soon, we will be entering into the summer months, we will be going on family vacations and doing other fun summer activities. However, as I am sitting here writing this, I am not thinking about the summer heat. Instead, I am thinking about Mother's Day and how it has changed. My celebration of Mother’s Day looks quite different, even from just five years ago. I used to only have to focus on my mom and my grandmother. However, now my grandmother has passed, and as a result a lot of our Mother’s Day traditions have changed. Then, as I was thinking about all of this, I could not help but think about how much my life has changed in general. My grandmother is not only gone, but my stepfather is also gone. Now, because of that, at the end of May, my mother will officially be selling our childhood home. She will be moving in with my grandfather, and I will most likely never step into my childhood home again. Also, most of my siblings have or are in the process of moving away from our hometown. To be fair, I was the first to do so. However, we are all just so far away from each other. I am here. I have a brother in Alabama, another in Hawaii, and one other soon to be in Alaska. These housing situations are temporary due to the military, but they are still far away. Recently, I realized that my five siblings and I have not all been in the same room since my grandmother’s funeral. These moments of being all together are getting rarer every day. Thus, a lot has changed and is changing for my family. However, in this Easter season, I am reminded of
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
3 For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to break down and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek and a time to lose;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
8 a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace (NRSVUE)
This text reminds us of the regular flow of creation. It highlights that everything in life has a beginning and an end, and that there is a time for everything. Thus, change is inevitable since we are in God’s wondrous creation. In this Easter season, this text is a reminder that the Death and Resurrection is present everywhere in our lives, and this means our lives will change and that things will be different. However, that is okay because in the change there is new life. Although Mother’s Day is different, now I have my own child and a wife to celebrate. I have two nephews and a niece on the way. Therefore, I have two sisters-in-law to celebrate also. There is new life in all of this. So much has changed for my family, some people are gone. However, our family is growing, and we will start our own traditions. We will find new ways of being together. We will gather at new locations. However, in all the new, we can still celebrate and remember the past. As I am writing this, I am sitting here looking at my new hummingbird feeder on my porch remembering my grandmother who so loved sitting on her porch watching for hummingbirds. Thus, we remember the past by celebrating the present, and we look to the future in hope for what our new life brings for every day we are renewed. Thus, this Easter season, let us remember that we are the people of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let us remember that this life is a gift from God. Therefore, as we head into this month of May, let us ask ourselves, “What things in our own lives are coming to a close, and what things are coming into existence?” How are you seeing the Death and Resurrection acting in your own lives, and what does that mean for you? I pray that you all have a blessed May and as the season changes may you all do the same.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
Easter greetings to you all! We are now entering into the month of May, and it is an exciting month! The flowers are blooming. The weather is getting warmer, and we are nearing the end of the school year. Soon, we will be entering into the summer months, we will be going on family vacations and doing other fun summer activities. However, as I am sitting here writing this, I am not thinking about the summer heat. Instead, I am thinking about Mother's Day and how it has changed. My celebration of Mother’s Day looks quite different, even from just five years ago. I used to only have to focus on my mom and my grandmother. However, now my grandmother has passed, and as a result a lot of our Mother’s Day traditions have changed. Then, as I was thinking about all of this, I could not help but think about how much my life has changed in general. My grandmother is not only gone, but my stepfather is also gone. Now, because of that, at the end of May, my mother will officially be selling our childhood home. She will be moving in with my grandfather, and I will most likely never step into my childhood home again. Also, most of my siblings have or are in the process of moving away from our hometown. To be fair, I was the first to do so. However, we are all just so far away from each other. I am here. I have a brother in Alabama, another in Hawaii, and one other soon to be in Alaska. These housing situations are temporary due to the military, but they are still far away. Recently, I realized that my five siblings and I have not all been in the same room since my grandmother’s funeral. These moments of being all together are getting rarer every day. Thus, a lot has changed and is changing for my family. However, in this Easter season, I am reminded of
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
3 For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to break down and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek and a time to lose;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
8 a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace (NRSVUE)
This text reminds us of the regular flow of creation. It highlights that everything in life has a beginning and an end, and that there is a time for everything. Thus, change is inevitable since we are in God’s wondrous creation. In this Easter season, this text is a reminder that the Death and Resurrection is present everywhere in our lives, and this means our lives will change and that things will be different. However, that is okay because in the change there is new life. Although Mother’s Day is different, now I have my own child and a wife to celebrate. I have two nephews and a niece on the way. Therefore, I have two sisters-in-law to celebrate also. There is new life in all of this. So much has changed for my family, some people are gone. However, our family is growing, and we will start our own traditions. We will find new ways of being together. We will gather at new locations. However, in all the new, we can still celebrate and remember the past. As I am writing this, I am sitting here looking at my new hummingbird feeder on my porch remembering my grandmother who so loved sitting on her porch watching for hummingbirds. Thus, we remember the past by celebrating the present, and we look to the future in hope for what our new life brings for every day we are renewed. Thus, this Easter season, let us remember that we are the people of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let us remember that this life is a gift from God. Therefore, as we head into this month of May, let us ask ourselves, “What things in our own lives are coming to a close, and what things are coming into existence?” How are you seeing the Death and Resurrection acting in your own lives, and what does that mean for you? I pray that you all have a blessed May and as the season changes may you all do the same.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
