Good Wednesday morning High Places family!
Autumn is almost upon us with cooler temps, shorter days, and the majesty of East Tennessee leaves as the move through oranges, yellows, and bright reds. I've always been pretty open about what fall does to me, emotionally speaking. The shorter days and less sunlight tend to bring a "seasonal-affective" melancholy with them, and to be honest, it's strange thing because inwardly I am happy to see the heat give us a break, and of course the fish start biting strong in the fall which is also a ton of fun! Then there's college football and basketball, incredible hikes and walks in the changing colors of the trees... so much to be excited about and grateful for in this season, so sometimes I feel guilty for getting the emotional doldrums in autumn.
Are emotions are powerful gifts from God, and finding balance between trying to regulate them verses stepping fully into them can be a fine line to walk for some people. It's why when I was watching the waves crash against the sand in Destin several weeks ago that I felt impressed to do this series on emotions for us at High Places.
As I mentioned in the message last Sunday, we can often struggle the most with loving ourselves and all our imperfections. And yet unless we do that, it's hard to be fully present and loving with others. When we fret, or mope, we're not functioning at our best and I just wanted to say with transparency, that this is the time of year I struggle with those things the most.
I am thankful for Scripture though, as we sang this past Sunday, it is a "lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." This Sunday we will look at the emotion of regret and hopefully see that way that our love and courage can give shape to regret in our lives to produce change. Regret that isn't processed spiritually is crippling to people, and yet, I believe feeling regret is necessary for us to develop empathy and understanding, both of ourselves and for others.
The Bible says, "Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death." It seems like we are to grieve certain things in our lives, but like all emotions, they're to happen God's way and in God's timing, with an eye cast toward the rescue we can receive from our regrets. Without it, we become victimized by our grief and it begins cutting our lives short because it slowly eats us away.
Godly regret doesn't sulk, but rather sees past misstep and misfortune as an opportunity to deepen and grow. You might remember that when destruction fell on Sodom, Lot's wife looked back, not with the hope of learning from God, but with a paralyzing nostalgia of her life there that she was unwilling to let go of. Likewise, Isaiah reminds in chapter 43 that we "Do not look back to the former things, or things of old," because God is "doing a new thing." And Jesus said, "the one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back again, isn't fit for Kingdom duties."
We know looking back can be paralyzing to us, emotionally and spiritually, but it doesn't have to be. We can look back on our lives, the missed opportunities, the mistakes perhaps we have made, and be crippled by them -- or we can name them one at a time and hand them over to God is merciful and rich in grace and love. We we give it to God, our regret becomes a kind of Godly grief that Paul speaks of and we can be freed from it.
I hope you'll join us this Sunday for this important concept explained in God's Word.
News and Notes
On Saturday, from 10:00 until late afternoon, the Scarboro Community has invited all Oak Ridgers to fellowship with them and enjoy the day. There will be food vendors, games, and activities for all. If you plan to go for an hour or two, and you would like to go as a High Places group, see me on Sunday after the message.
ARK-tober is coming for our Mountain Movers! This travel-trip to the Ark Experience in Kentucky will be a fun trip for our kiddos and dates are being selected now. This trip comes to us through Patrick Weir (praises for his recovery!) who doesn't have children of his own but wanted to do something special for our High Places kids. Stay tuned into Kady Marcotte for more details in the coming weeks!
On Saturday, October 29 our "Monster Fest" returns to the Grove, remember last year we did a Monster Cruise due to the pandemic. (Thank you Jollay family for that incredible day!) This year, we will return to the Grove, serve lunch, and make the day into a fall festival of sorts. Lots of this day are still in the planning phases, so stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
Women's bible study continues on Mondays, and we're still hoping for a men's breakfast bible study and tool room clean-up morning at the Grove, perhaps as a way of launching a regularly scheduled men's gathering.
Finally, in November we're going to keep the doors open for a working lunch for a couple of Sundays as we learn some of the concepts from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace teachings.
Fall is going to be great at High Places! Join us this Sunday for a great time together, for encouragement, and for the celebration of our faith family. You are all loved!
David