What We Can

Underestimating is just one of those things we do. We watch the news or we read it on a device and along with it comes a sense of dread or a measure of hopelessness. We hear from one of our beloved that she’s struggling. Loss comes along and wrecks us because loss is devastating. Critical illness shows up somewhere on the family tree. At the nadir of these circumstances, there’s a sense of powerlessness. We wonder, “what can we do?” Often times, we conclude we can’t do anything, and I believe most times we’re underestimating ourselves.

I think most times that sense of powerlessness comes from a misunderstanding or an underestimation of what we have. We look around and know that we lack the power for a miraculous cure or we know we can’t do the hard work that someone we love has to do for himself. Problems seem so big that they’re systemic and what we have right in front of us won’t make a dent.

Often, we forget what we have—what we really have. We have God. And, we have each other. To be sure, it takes some practice to use each of those resources, but those resources are always there and won’t be exhausted. What more could we ask for?

During the next several weeks at St. John’s, we’ll be talking about “what we can, with what we have, where we are.” As we raise financial commitments for 2018, we remind ourselves that we are not powerless. We’ll remember that we can do great things because we have God and each other, and we are rooted and grounded in the community that is St. John’s, St. Hubert the Hunter and the Chapel of the Transfiguration. Rooted and grounded here in the Mountain West where we pride ourselves on both our grit and our practice of coming to the aid of those in need.

Jesus tells his disciples, “The people who trust me will not only do what I am doing but even greater things.” I know greater things are coming to St. John’s, to Jackson, and beyond as we gather around this dream of “what we can, with what we have, where we are.”

Love, Jimmy