God
Loss isn’t something we like facing into.
It’s not something we plan for
It’s not something we we want in our future
It’s not something we can control or fit into our plans
Yet it’s not our plans we are fitting anything into
It’s yours
Your mysterious, good and all-powerful plan
We all scramble trying to conceive of what this could look like
We change, switch, go back, jump forward – all trying to fall in place
We walk over each other and make mistakes trying to see clearly
It’s in this reality that we stand here now
A little bit bruised, a full history of joy behind us, and an unknown future
We remember that you care infinitely more than we do about everything
We remember that this is your church, your body and your plan
As Joe and Sarah with Ethan and Ella move to Saskatoon
We pray your Spirit would be with them
You would guide, lead, comfort and teach
You would bring about new joys, new friends and new challenges
You would continue to sharpen, discipline and bring into focus your plan
We pray that the things we learned together here
A life of risk, rootedness and hospitality would continue to be their markers
The stories that were written down wouldn’t be forgotten
And that new stories would be told
We know your Spirit goes with them, may they be in tune with her
We know your Church spreads all over, may they continue to see your kingdom
We know your love reaches to the end of the earth, may they always feel it
We know your peace is real, may it pour all over them
So we send them off in this same peace
Be with the them, the senders and the receivers
Let your kingdom come
Let your will be done
On Earth as it is in heaven
Amen.
thank-you Nathan for this…
it’s all so hard to choke through.
as is the nature of loss.
and this loss feels like a big one.