Time really flies … it zooms past us much quicker than we expect.

An interesting question popped up today in Catechism class.  How do people see the church I pastor?  It’s one of those “who do people say I am?” questions applied to Bangsar Lutheran Church.  This question can also be adapted to myself 🙂

While the views of others might give some insight on who we are, or more precisely who the people who gave their views are, it also draws us to return to the core of our identity which is defined by the opinions of others but the vision in which we operate from.

This Advent season has turned out to be one of my most reflective seasons all these years.  Maybe age is catching up, or the intensity of the year is drawing to a close, and I find myself digging deeper into the quest of refocusing on what will be the next steps.

It’s funny when I was scanning through a famous church website and how the numbers and stats are staggering.  Even beating the older mainline church denominations, and makes a lot of hidden ministries and churches appear insignificant.  Let’s face it, what numbers do many of us have to prove that we are in the flow of what God is doing?

But then again, this is the season of Advent and Christmas where the hidden becomes visible, the insignificant is really much more important than we imagined.  When all is said and done, the stress of a pregnant teenage girl with her fiancée and the baby in a manger points us to a different way of looking at what is truly life changing.

At times even those closest to us, have a set of expectations we can never meet.  Requirement which while reasonable are unreachable because of the life stage we are in today. We wish we could be superman (some think we are, but then we know better) so we can solve all the problems before us with one sweep.  But alas … we can’t even though we try.

Light at the end of the tunnel?  There are many tunnels in our life time. Or maybe it’s really light in the midst of the darkness around us.  While the final chapters will bring us to the light which will leave no trace of darkness, but for now we are coping and at times able to thrive with a little flicker of light.  And that’s enough to help us to take the next step.

The next step is the only thing we are looking forward to make.

Words are cheap these days.  Promises are easily broken. Trust is thin. Talent is overrated.

This Advent season, many might be searching like me what really matters, connecting to the one who turns the world upside down the right side up. Christmas will be a climax of all God is birthing in us through Christ as some of us are going through labor pains.

It can be a lonely journey.  But we can be grateful for the midwives and friends who have alongside us.

Time still zooms on fast … but we do manage to slow down and catch the scenery, take note of the details, appreciate the relationships, face some regrets, offer a prayer … and move on!