Memo by Kimberly Hampton

I have done two major moves and one minor move in the last two-and-a-half years. All of which have been school-related. And I have learned a bit about myself from those experiences. As I have told my classmates, I've learned that I don't do change well (although I am getting better at it) but if I have to change, give it to me all at once and let it be done. As, finally, my things arrive from Indiana this week, I'm taking stock as to how well I've handled this latest and biggest change.

For the most part, I think I've handled it well. Other than being a little behind in my school work and not having my bed or a couple of shirts that I really wish I had packed, I've handled this transition better than I expected to. The question then becomes why. Why have I handled this change better than the others that I've done in this period of time?

Part of the answer lies in the fact that, as this was my third move, my family and I are getting into a kind of rhythm about moves. Part of the answer is the fact that with this move I was moving closer to the people that I need to be near at this point of my life. But I think the biggest part lies in the fact that I have with me both here at the office and at my apartment a copy of Kathleen Norris' book Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith and some romance novels. Once I noticed that this was the thing that connected both my life here at the church and my life outside of the church, I saw that what both Amazing Grace and my romance novels provide me is a sense of security. They are my security blankets.

What security blanket is God providing you with?

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1) We all find ourselves facing situations where panic and fear are our first and most natural choices. Some of you are trying to cope with fear right now. It's like you are trying to create this space, a sanctuary, a fortress, where fear will not take hold of you. But sometimes, just sometimes, mainly in the darkness of night, your defenses are weak and fear creeps up and finds its way into your heart. At those times; who (or what) is your light?

If we learn that God, be it in the form of a person or spirit or thing, is our light, then we can wait and wade through the darkness for the blaze of the morning. If we learn that God chooses people and things as a dwelling place, then we can choose to dwell in the house of the Lord. If we learn to recognize the work of God in the people and things around us, then we can choose to reveal God to others through our own actions.

That is courage. Courage not drawn on denial. Courage not lived pretending that threats and dangers and fears are not real; that there are not matters out there of critical importance. But what happens is that we see all of that from a different perspective. God is our light. That is what enables us to see what is actually out there. And the first thing that we see is that God is also our stronghold. We cannot be destroyed. That is the Psalmist can write that he has no one or nothing to fear. Who he is is established in a relationship to a strong and faithful God who will not let anything destroy that identity.

Do not be afraid. God has set you up on the rock. Your foot will not slip. Your enemies and your worries, whether they are from without or within, will not overpower you.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, in life can destroy you or separate you from the love of God.






Kimberly Hampton