Dear friends at St. Andrew’s,

As I get ready to return in the next few weeks, I wanted to begin sharing some of what I have been thinking about during my medical leave. This year has certainly been an adventure, just as I had prayed for when I turned 50—although not at all the kind of adventure I expected.

One experience that has stayed with me happened in the Emergency Room.

I was waiting for a hospital room and had to stay behind curtains because I also had a very contagious infection. From that small space, I could hear the people around me: someone struggling with addiction, a frightened woman with dementia, someone having trouble breathing, and another person nearing the end of life.

There was a lot of pain.

But there was also a lot of beauty.

I stayed in that curtained space for four days, waiting and listening. During that time, I began to notice how much love and goodness can be found right in the middle of suffering.

God seemed to be present in places I did not expect.

I saw beauty in the mess:

A person struggling with addiction choosing to accept treatment.

A granddaughter staying patient with her grandmother, even when dementia made her words hurtful and confusing.

A wife visiting her husband every day, softly calling him “my love” and “my dear one.”

Family members and church friends gathering around someone nearing the end of life, offering love and comfort.

And a little great-granddaughter happily sharing the news that she was going to become a big sister.

The suffering did not disappear.

But neither did the joy.

I began to see that beauty does not always come after the hard things are over. Sometimes it appears right in the middle of them.

That has become one of the main lessons of this season for me:

Beauty in the mess.

Like Jesus entering the mess of human life to bring the Beauty of his life.

I’ll share more in the weeks to come. I miss you all.

Every blessing,

Pastor Jeremy