Wouldn’t it be great to have clear foresight for the year to come? This afternoon I’m going to pick up my first pair of new eyeglasses in years, and the prescription reveals the state of my aging eyes: my first pair of bifocals, although they avoid that word now. These are “progressive” (no-line) lenses and also “transition” lenses that darken in sunlight.
Those of you who remember the early “photogray glasses” of my childhood will understand why the latter choice makes me a bit nervous. Given the brightness in Joy’s sanctuary most mornings, will I be accidentally leading worship in sunglasses one of these Sundays?
Probably not. But I bet I’ll be able to see a lot more clearly--at least 20/25 if not quite 20/20--and hopefully I can stop taking off my glasses every time I want to read some fine print. Wouldn’t it be great if this was also the year we could see clearly what God wants for Joy? What God wants from Joy? What God has in store for Joy?
One thing we can see clearly: Yale Avenue is about to be torn up in front of Joy and will be a huge mess most of the year. We’ve gotten a small taste of that with preliminary construction and utility relocation. Our parking lot is draining better than ever (Farewell, Lake Joy, we don’t miss you!) even as our driveway has more potholes than ever.
But in a few short months Yale Avenue will be a lot closer to our parking lot, and that whole driveway will underneath it. By early 2021 I’d like to see not only a repaved and restored parking lot, but lighting for our main sign. And according to the city’s plans, we can expect another entrance/exit for Joy closer to Walgreens.
After three years together, I also know y’all a lot better, so this is a great time to try some new things: new styles of worship, new special events and more. You may have heard a little about such things already, but my prayer for us in 2020 is that God would make it a little clearer, if not quite 20/20, what God envisions for our life together, sharing the good news of Jesus in word and deed.
Pastor Jon
