Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

With only 28 days, February may be the shortest month of the year, but to me it feels like the longest month of the year.  After all, it’s the month that we just want to get through so that we can finally head towards spring. It’s the month that seems to tease us every so often with a bit of warmth and then plunge us back into the depths of winter. It’s a month that I really just want to come to an end—and that in and of itself, makes it feel very, very long.  I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining. And it’s not that completely I hate winter (although it is definitely not my favorite season). But at this point in the year I’m a bit tired of putting on the heavy jacket, hat, and gloves to walk the dog. I’m thinking about going out for a run in shorts and a tank. I’m practically dreaming about jumping into the ocean or the pool for a swim. But here we are still waking up to the cold and, today at least, a bit more snow. To me, February definitely feels like the longest month...

Today is Valentine’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate love, especially romantic love. Of course, we can celebrate the love between friends or siblings or parents and their children. But we all pretty much know that the day is really focused on the love between a man and a woman who, when they look into each other’s eyes, feel that so-called “spark of love.” It’s a day for flowers and chocolates, and maybe an excuse for a little added romance. For those who are in that kind of relationship it can be a really nice day.  Thus, today I will in some small ways celebrate the love I experience in my relationship with my wife, Kim who is for sure, my valentine!  I am keenly aware, however, that for others this may be a day to mourn the fact that they’ve lost a love or maybe never had what is called by some, a “true love.” For them, a day like this can be a very hard day as they wonder what happened to the “love of their life,” why they haven’t found their “true love,” and wonder whether o...

For the kids it’s almost as good as a snow day (well, not nearly!). For the parents it’s a bit of a nightmare. A delayed opening for school due to difficult weather may have the kids celebrating another hour or two at home, but it can be a bit of a headache for parents. I’m sure such was the case for many families this past week here in our part of New Jersey as many schools, including the pre-school which Kim directs, had a delayed opening due to the projection of snow mixed with ice and rain early in the morning.  Except for the kids who don’t mind a delayed opening of school, delays are not usually what we hope or wish for. After all, who likes to get to the airport and find out that their flight was delayed? Who enjoys standing at the train station waiting for a train that has been delayed? Who wants to get to their doctor’s appointment only to be told the doctor was delayed? And who of us enjoys being delayed as we sit in a traffic jam (which happens easily here in New Jersey)...