Psalm 92:1-2

It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,

In this psalm, we catch a glimpse of the daily routines of the psalmist. In the morning, he is focusing himself on God’s love, expecting to experience His affection throughout the day.  In the evening, he is looking back over the day, reflecting on how God has been faithful to him.  Expecting and reflecting bookend his days, deepening his ability to walk with God each day.

As this semester comes to a close and exams await us, I invite you to make time to reflect on the past year:

~ How has God been faithful to you? To us?

~ What has He been stirring up or settling down in your heart?

~ How has Jesus shown Himself to you in this past year?

I’ll start the conversation, but I encourage you to continue it in your journal and with friends, during the downtimes in exam season and in the fresh air of summer.

As I look back over our year focused on One Hope, One Call, One God, I reflect on:

• The joy of welcoming our third child, Iris Isabella, into this world and the outpouring of celebration from Redeemer community.
• The hope I felt for our fragmented church as an Orthodox Priest, Catholic Priest, Pentecostal Pastor and Reformed minister gave our group a taste of the unity among believers.
• The conviction I felt as many of us participated in the Blanket Exercise in chapel and the humility with which Indigenous Bishop Mark Macdonald spoke.
• The wonder I experienced as the cruciform outline of Jesus on canvas in one chapel was coloured in by my own skin tone and a multitude of others.

These are just a few reflections – God has been so faithful to us!

The amazing thing is that as we practice times of reflection like these at the end of days and chapters of life, our expectation builds for the next day/chapter. Deeper reflecting leads to greater expecting and back again. Our tasting of God’s tangible faithfulness gives us hearts to lean on His ever-fresh love tomorrow.

As you conclude this semester and dream of summer, know that you are in my prayers!

Grace and peace,

josiah