In the last post I wrote, I said I would say more about the retreat at First Presbyterian Church.  The leader was Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner and she was extraordinary. I loved her presentation on Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, I can’t write about it since she used a slide presentation and talked from the top of her head.  But she did send me a copy of her sermon

She used Genesis 1:1-10 – the first creation story – as her text.  I loved that her example of the text was a memory from her childhood of using a flannel board in Sunday School.  I used a flannel board in the bible school that I went to after class in elementary school.  A flannel board is a big felt board on an easel.  Characters – or in the case pictures of the creation story – were little flat pieces that went on the board.  Wilson said her teacher gave the children the pieces to put on the flannel board. My teacher put the pieces on the board herself to tell the story. 

When the story was completely told, Wagner said, “Everything was in its place – the animals, the fish, the stars, the water, even Adam and Eve – were placed on the land with some flowers around them.  Everything was organized and in its place.” 

The problem is in our world everything is not in its place.  Trump is president, gun violence has gone unchecked, congress has stalemated, and the list goes on and on. So, what do we make of this orderly story about our world? 

Wagner reminds us that before the orderly world was created there was chaos.  As the text says, “When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”

And what does God do?  God creates.  She said that the Hebrew reads “God bara.”  This is something only God does from the chaos and darkness.  She said that “in the biblical texts animals don’t bara, trees don’t bara, even humans don’t bara.”  Only God can create in this way.   There were other tidbits, but this isn’t her blog, so I’ll refrain from sharing them.  Instead, I will share what her words meant to me.

My 64^th birthday was on October 5 – last Sunday when the retreat was finishing up.  I can’t believe I am 64 years old!  Where did the time go?  I wish there was some way to go back and remind myself that some day I would be old, and it is important to live every day fully.  I spent way too much time in my youth and middle age worrying.  I’m trying hard not to worry now but old habits die hard.

Her sermon helped me escape from worrying so much about the future and trust God’s creative energy instead.  If God can create order out of such chaos, then God can create something out of my life.  I don’t mean my life is chaotic because it isn’t.  I do mean I’m looking for ways to do ministry.

There was a story in the Asheville Watchdog about a 65-year-old man who is probably the oldest police recruit in the history of the department.  His name is Jerry O’Donnell, and he had a 40-year career as an actor, but he wants to be a police officer so he’s going through the training process. This involves running through a parking garage and then doing exercises like 15 air squats.  He runs through the garage again and does 50 push-ups.  He then runs through the garage and makes 50 burpees. I don’t know what a burpee is but did I say he is 65?   

I admire that and hope these years bring some creative activities for me as well.  I have no desire to be a police officer but I’m sure the creative waters of the Spirit will show me where and what I need to do.  It seems like I’ve been writing a lot about trying to figure out what God is calling me to do. God isn’t going to put something in my lap even though that’s what I would like.  I am being asked to do some new things so that helps.

Creative Spirit, come by here.