Southpoint News July 27, 2017

Fixations

When life gets difficult, I tend to fixate on the problem. There is this little voice that comes on the loudspeaker in my brain that says “Mind the Gap”. So, that’s what I do: I fixate on the gap. I analyze what has gone wrong, and then I strategize how to make it right. Deep down, something in me thinks that if I just think hard enough, work hard enough, strategize hard enough, I can put things right. Of course, often I can’t fix the gap. Sometimes my attempts to fix it makes it worse… some things are just outside my control. I grow discouraged. I get anxious. I worry. I bump up against the truth that I am not enough to shift this behemoth. God has been inviting me to approach the challenge from a different angle. Instead of minding the gap, I am learning to navigate the gap under the guidance of Jesus. I have two dogs, Katuah and Gracie. When Katuah was a puppy, we found her starving in the woods. She was the ugliest little thing you’ve ever seen, a worm-filled, pus-eyed, parvo-ridden puppy so weak she couldn’t stand up. We took her home and nursed her back to health. From that moment on, she has been fixated on food. When I eat, she sits right by me and stares. Not at me, but at the food in my hand. When I move my hand, her eyes follow. I can move my hand up and down, side to side, and her whole head moves. She is totally fixated on the bread. This is what I am learning. I am learning to fixate on Jesus – the bread of life – as my sole hope, my source of salvation, in real time, moment by moment, as a way of navigating this crazy life, rather than simply fixating on the gap and trying to think my way out of it. It is not all up to me. There is one greater than I am, one who is enough to navigate me through the difficulties of life. Because of this, I do not need to hide from hard things. I can do hard things. I can survive hard things. This, too, is part of living a sent out life.
– Rev. Anne Smith

Pastor Anne’s Office
#1, 1381 George Street, White Rock. This is in the ThirdSpace building operated by the United Church of Canada. Thank you for helping shift Anne’s office from Sunnyside to this new space!

Holidays for Pastor Anne
Anne will be ‘off-duty’ from Aug. 6 – 26, inclusive. If a pastoral need arises, please contact a member of the Leadership Team and share it with your Gathering Group. From Aug. 27 – 31 she’ll be participating in the Gleaners service trip.

 
Summer Services:  Invited, Empowered, and Sent: Sharing our Stories

July 30 Anne Smith

August 6 Ruth des Cotes Imago Dei

August 13 David Evans-Carlson Counselling Youth

August 20 Jen Hubbard Youth Unlimited

August 27 ALL OUT – Meet in Gathering Groups