Yesterday was the first anniversary of my ordination and installation as the pastor of the Fairbanks Union and New Portland Community Churches, as well as the ED of MATE. A month before that actually celebrated the year that I have spent in this wonderful and new community (not sure if it is still new after a year….

One cannot help but reflect on these anniversaries… reflections on the path we have walked, the new things we learned, the bumps in the road, the achievements, the failures, and most of all the grace we received through it all. Grace in new relationships forged with those you have now come to love as your own family; Grace in new ways of doing; Grace for learning (a lot) and for not being in kindergarten phases anymore; Grace in unconsciously stumbling through it all; Grace in accepting criticism and grace in accepting love and adoration.

This has been a year of grace – given and taken. Grace that made me stronger, more compassionate, more willing to listen. Grace that brought me home, where God almost knew I belonged at this time in my life.

And so thanks give out, life from my lips, my hands, my mind, my body. Thanks that brings me to my knees, and that lifts my hands in song and praise for the One who knows, who leads, who prods and pokes and who stands with us in all endeavors, as long as we continue to follow in the path that he has set before us.