May 2017 - Pastor Craig

 In the fall of the year, Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the rutted and rugged highway from Alberta, Canada to the Yukon. Linda didn't know you don't travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives normally venture. The first evening she found a room in the mountains near a summit and asked for a 5 am wake up call so she could get an early start. She couldn't understand why the clerk looked surprised at the request, but as she awoke to early morning fog shrouding the mountain tops, she understood.

 Not wanting to look foolish, she got up and went to breakfast. Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and since the place was so small, she felt obliged.

 "Where are you headed?" one of the truckers asked. "Whitehorse." "In that little Civic? No way! This pass is dangerous in weather like this." "Well, I'm determined to try", was Linda's gutsy, if not very informed response. "Then I guess we're just going to have to hug you", the trucker suggested. Linda drew back. "There's no way I'm going to let you touch me!" "Not like that!" The truckers chuckled. "We'll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we'll get you through the mountains."

 All that foggy morning Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains.

 May is that month of changes and transitions. Graduations are on the horizon. Parents watching their child walk across a stage and getting a diploma and making another step in the journey to being an "adult". Wondering what will be the next step in their life. How about looking at that child as they are making that plan to go out in that scary world and move away from home.

 Here is the thing. We have raised children to be cautious and we have raised them to be aware. The amazing part is that they will make mistakes, yet somehow they will learn from them. It is our job to give them that support.

 On May 14th, as a church we will be recognizing our High School Graduates, but we will also be recognizing those who will be confirmed with the Affirmation of Baptism Service. In the rite of confirmation, the confirmand acknowledges the same promises that were made at their baptism and claims them as their own. In other words, they become responsible for their continued religious education and development. It is another transition, in their faith life.

 In the illustration above, we can surround them in love and care. We can guide them from the front and support them from the rear, but we cannot do the driving for them. They have done that themselves.

 Each of us has our own issues. When we are caught in the fog of this world, we need good people who have been down the road before us to lead us and guide us. The wonder is that God provides us with them when we need them most.

In Christ,

Pr Craig