09/19/2023
•september 10, 2023•
That was my last day serving as an assigned pastor at Trevecca Community Church of the Nazarene in Nashville, TN.
This photo was taken on a morning in early April when I was trying to discern what I was being compelled to do. I looked over from my Sunday morning contemplations to find the light streaming in through the vibrant fragmented glass of this window more gracefully than I’d ever seen it. It pierced me, just as the meaning of this window pierces me. I’ve understood the significance and the feeling of being strangely warmed in the sanctification sense, but I’ve learned that the Spirit of God continues to warm you in peculiar ways from recognizing something that compels you to peculiar things. The call to holiness is one of peculiar oneness with God, others, and yourself. So many times, we act and believe as though humanity doesn’t deserve love because of a sinful nature so much so that we forget that humanity deserves love because of its communal nature. Part of that communal, holiness-style loving is recognizing the good of creation even within yourself as one of those creatures and learning to mend the brokenness within it, sometimes distancing yourself from harmful cultures for the benefit of your wholistic health. There has been a lot of struggle, hurts, and growing pains as I make the decision to live more intentionally whole. There is mourning for the loss of life liturgies and bonds that I formed in my time. But there is rejoicing in the outcomes of these decisions and being welcomed into a new faith community with new opportunities for growth and unity.
