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the year of Jubilee

A little pun in the title. Not only is it the verse of my church, but it seems like possibly my verse for the year. This is my year at Jubilee (Church). At every church I’ve committed to over the last 8 years, I have learned valuable lesson. At Trinity Pres. Of SLO I discovered the (second) love of my life- THEOLOGY! In Chile, at la Iglesia Anglicana de Providencia I learned a lot about leadership and ecumenical unity (or lack thereof). In my two years at Westminster, I heard the most beautiful liturgy at City Church and saw what a bunch of hippies turned radical middle class Jesus lovers can do at New Life Glenside. The Village Church was a whole new experience. It was in so many ways the perfect church for me. It was a combination of good fellowship, solid redemptive historical and yet contextualized preaching of the Gospel, and a true love for the broken yet beautiful neighborhood we lived in. Even if I never get to live in New York again (Lord forbid) I know the six months I spent at The Village Church were formative to my view of how to do church in the city.
Now I find myself at Jubilee. It is the year that we proclaim the Lord’s favor. It is the year that all debts are forgiven and life is restored. I have no clue what the Lord is going to teach me this year. I feel like a butterfly coming out of my cocoon. I know I am breaking free, I have felt the pains of change, and I know my wings are gaining strength to fly. I haven’t looked in the mirror yet. It’s too early to see the fullness of the change that has taken place. But I confidently that this year is going to be big. Probably bigger than any other year in my life.
I used to think that my 26th year was going to be wasted in pain. The darkness of the valley crept over my toes on May 29th. It was my birthday. I remember some time in June thinking that the way my birthday started, the way the rest of the days went afterward was going to be indicative of my whole year. I was sure that the sun wouldn’t shine until I turned 27. It would go down in my personal history as a year of pain. But I am seeing the Lord take what had been set aside for pain and despair and He is redeeming my year. The 5 months that I spent in the valley are being redeemed by His mighty hand.

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