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Across the Pastor’s Desk by Josh Enderson

Maybe it is just me, but I seem to be waiting for summer to start, and yet fall is already here! I am not sure what happened, but summer is already on its way out. The geese are gathering. The long summer evenings are in the past, replaced by more darkness and cooler weather. The change of seasons is already being felt. This summer went by quickly, moved along by a string of activities as some seasons are.

Amid all the changes of seasons, and in the midst of the flow of life, we are reminded that we have our one constant presence through it all: Jesus Christ. Just as the seasons change, we know that life changes also. We go through the changes and turns of life. Sometimes we move those changes along by our own actions. At other times, we are pushed along by things that we do not choose: other’s actions, illness, death, and such. But, through it all, Christ is always with us, the anchor that can keep us steady.

In the opening to a book of devotions, author Joyce Rupp talks about what led her to put this particular book together, and to give it its title “Anchors for the Soul.” She had been on retreat on the seashore and throughout the retreat there was a sailboat anchored offshore. Throughout the week, she watched this sailboat stay anchored in its spot. The weather would change from day to day, with the seas getting rough occasionally. But the sailboat didn’t move from its spot. The darkness of night would come, but when the light of day returned, the sailboat was still there, right where it had been when the sun set the day before. No matter if the seas were rough or calm, or if it was day or night, the boat stood there, unmoved, anchored in its spot. She writes that this is like the spiritual life. When we are anchored in God, grounded in Christ, we stay stable and grounded no matter what comes our way. As the seasons change, as things go up and down (good or bad) our anchor in God holds us stable through it all. 

So, as you watch the seasons change around you, either in the physical world or in your personal life, what can you do to stay grounded in Christ? What anchors you in God’s love and peace when things are moving all around you? What gives you grounding this day?

Josh Enderson is pastor at Hayward-Trondhjem Lutheran Churches, ELCA.