Every tomorrow has two handles.
We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety
or the handle of faith.

Henry Ward Beecher

Beecher has a way of making those two handles sound evenly matched, equally accessible to us all. But are they? Anxiety has a way of creeping into our systems before we even realize what is at work in our bodies. At school I often have children complain of headaches, they’re edgy, and often have a hard time focusing when they know a big challenge or a new experience is coming up. I think we often grab that handle of anxiety without even realizing we’ve done it. Anxiety robs us of our openness, using our imagination, and causes us to blame others for problems that appear in our lives. Have we grabbed the handle of anxiety in our church family? Have we played it safe, blamed others, and stuck to routine in an effort to keep ourselves a float?

A new chapter in our church history is about to begin and along with this new step more anxiety will follow, but we do have the chance to grasp the handle of faith. We have a chance to renew our trust and willingness to take that big step together. It will be our faith that carries us forward, that binds us together, that allows us to serve our God. We need to let go of that handle of anxiety and purposefully grasp the handle of faith. That will require us to take risks and take responsibility for the health of our congregation. That handle is there just waiting for us to grab it!

Bonita Wiley

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