Pastor’s Corner: Unexpected Blessings

I learned something unexpected last week: that there’s video of the song I sang for our 125th Anniversary Celebration on the Internet!

The video is courtesy of our Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Charles Buck, who came to share our celebration and bring greetings from the Hawai’i Conference. He and his colleagues attend all kinds of celebrations and events at our neighbor churches, and bring the stories back to share through the Coconut Wireless emails and The Friend newsletter. So I wasn’t surprised to see him with his camera.

I hadn’t realized he’d taken the video, and also one of the IYAA group singing. I’m so glad he did.

Dr. Buck gave me an unexpected blessing.

Each day comes, I believe and hope, with expected blessings. There are flavors we can taste that always delight us. There are people we can depend upon for a kind word. There are sights, and sounds, and scents, and relationships that fill our hearts.

And it’s so easy to grow accustomed to these familiar wonders.

Unexpected blessings have the potential to shake our familiarity. In the sudden warmth of this new gift, I think we have a moment to consider the “ordinary” blessings of our lives. Not to compare them: but to appreciate them anew.

After all, what is “ordinary” about a sunrise? What is “ordinary” about a flower blossom’s scent? What is “ordinary” about love?

Other than the fact we can experience them nearly every day, there’s nothing ordinary about them at all.

Unexpected blessings have awakened me to the reality that my daily life is filled with ordinary blessings: the extravagance of God may be the greatest miracle of all.

Many blessings to you!

Pastor Eric

PS: Here’s the video!