Welcome

 

I was a bit nervous.  Orientation for seminary.  I sat in a circle of complete strangers wondering what I was getting myself into.

A wise woman began to calm us down and reassure us.  One piece of her seminarian-whispering stuck.  It got lodged somewhere in my soul and from time to time it surfaces to remind me I am not alone in this crazy world.

Susan Sonnenday Vogel said…

“God could have created us anyway God wanted to, but God chose to create us to need each other; God created us for community.”

What does that have to do with anything?  Glad you asked…

Friends, we are like rubber bands.  On our own we can do much.  Hold stuff together.  Become a sling-shot between v-shaped fingers.  Serve as a reminder for something important.  Spark a bit of pain to curb some unwanted behavior.

But, for all that we are a bit flat.  Limp really.  Barely three-dimensional.  Flimsy.  Floppy.

Get us together, say as a rubber band ball, and you have something else entirely.

A rubber band ball bounces.  It relieves stress.  It helps those who get stretched from shrinking back to something less.  It is dynamic.  Fun.  Exciting.

I want to be part of a something like that.  If you’re here, I’m hopeful you may want to be part of it as well.

Life is better together.  It’s how and why we were created.  It’s how we are meant to live.  We need each other.  Welcome to the BIG RUBBER BAND BALL.