Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

This past week, we welcomed into the Harris family AnneMarie Lynn, born to our son Jonathan and his wife Danielle on October 13. This is their fourth child, after their three boys, Jesse, jack, and Caleb. That’s right, Annemarie is going to grow up with three older brother—all of whom I know will both challenge her, protect her, and love her. Of course, Kim and I are thrilled to have our first granddaughter.  Nine months of waiting for the birth of a baby can seen very long at times. From the time the parents find out the mom is pregnant to the time the baby is born can seem like an eternity, both for the parents and for all who are waiting along with them. Even the time that passes between the arrival at the hospital to the moment of birth can seem very long. Yet, before you know it, the baby is here!  After months of preparation and expectation, and then labor, there she is—in this case, a beautiful baby girl!   I remember clearly the birth of our first born, Jonat...

Last weekend Kim and I spent a couple of nights at our family cabin in the Adirondacks. Our main purpose for going up was to close it up for the winter. Since the cabin is not winterized, it is unusable during the winter months. Thus, the pipes need to be drained, all food removed, the bedding put away, etc. Kim and I both agreed that it can feel a bit sad when it all gets shut down at the end of a season. And for me, it felt like a sign of the passing of time.  I’m sure you would agree, time passes by so quickly—most often, more quickly than we would like it to. It feels like we’ve just taken down the Christmas tree and packed away all the trimmings, when the holidays are back in view. Before you know it the kids are grown, off to college, married, and having kids of their own. The aches and pains and wrinkles of aging begin to appear.  Retirement comes.  Your celebration of  10 years of marriage turns into a 30 year celebration, then 40 years, etc. (If you’re on th...