Dear Rose Park,

There’s something satisfying about an orderly work place or a neatly organized drawer; I’m not sure how to put it into words but there’s something simply satisfying when everything is in its’ place, when it’s perfectly symmetrical, or when a set is complete. Maybe this is just me, but I doubt it.

Dear Rose Park,

When Sam and I first got married, I remember a wise mentor telling me, “I never knew how selfish I was until I got married.” A few years later, when Sam was first pregnant with Simon, that same wise mentor told me, “I never knew how selfish I still was until I had kids.” I’m still learning this lesson to be true, but this past Monday I replaced the word ‘selfish’ with ‘impatient’ and I learned a new lesson.

Dear Rose Park,

The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. - Exodus 34: 6&7

The 34th chapter in the book of Exodus describes God in various ways, but perhaps one of the most important descriptions is faithfulness. God is abounding in faithfulness to His people. He is steadfast, loyal, and true. This means we can depend on God to keep His promises; promises to go before us, to be with us, to never leave us, nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). God also calls His people to be faithful in return.

Dear Rose Park,

Last Wednesday I took Simon to get a haircut before the Thanksgiving Holiday. Simon gets his haircut at a barber shop called KO Cutz on College Avenue near downtown Holland. KO Cutz is owned and managed by local Holland boxing hero Johnny Garcia. As you can imagine, the walls of KO Cutz are adorned with all of the newspaper clippings, awards, and belts that Johnny amassed during his boxing career. But when Simon sat down in the chair to get his cut, I never would have imagined that I’d be reminded of the beauty of Advent.

Dear Rose Park,

American poet Emily Dickinson once offered these words as it relates to the convicting power of poetry: “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry.” I don’t imagine many of us are embracing the rhythms and truths of poetry on a daily basis, however poetry is a common form of language throughout much of scripture. Elements of poetry are present in Genesis, the major and minor prophets, the Psalms and Proverbs, and even the New Testament. One poem in particular sticks out in my mind.

Dear Rose Park,

Flour. Sugar. Warm Water. Yeast. These are the four basic ingredients in order to make bread. The smallest amount of these ingredients is yeast (typically a teaspoon or two) and yet yeast has a tremendous impact on the outcome. Yeast is what makes the bread rise; without yeast you won’t get bread, but instead you’ll have crackers. In this way, yeast is subtle and subversive but it has a tremendous impact on the surrounding culture.

Dear Rose Park,

For the next two Sunday’s we’re going to be talking about generosity. I imagine some of you just shifted in your seats or even raised your eyebrows at the thought of talking about money in the church. First, when we talk about generosity we are not merely talking about our finances. Second, it seems to me that if we avoid the subject of giving our time, energy and resources then we allow for a variety of other sources to dictate our view and posture. In other words, we must talk about generosity if we truly desire to love Christ with heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Dear Rose Park,

What do you think Rose Park will look like in the year 2050? What will the surrounding neighborhood look like? Who will be our leaders and who will be seated in the sanctuary? As we care for the church today, we always keep an eye on the horizon because the church of 2050 is formed and developed today.

Dear Rose Park,

This past Saturday Sam and I took Simon and Winn to the Hope College Donut Run as a part of homecoming weekend. The Donut Run started at 8:30 Saturday morning and it promised delicious donuts at the finish line. Simon and Winn both participated in the .5k run (one lap around the football field and then finishing on the 50-yard line). They both had a great time running with friends and then dancing on the football field with powder-sugared smiles. My heart was filled with joy to see them have so much fun, but the real emotions came in the parking lot on the way back to the car.

Dear Rose Park,

When I was a senior at Hope College I lived on Lincoln Avenue not too far from the train tracks. I lived with a few friends and I can remember when we first moved in it seemed like the noise of the train was not only going to knock the house down (this perhaps says more about the house than the train) but also deafen our ears. However, when I moved out of the house some ten months later, the sound of the train became so commonplace, so much like white noise, we hardly noticed it at all.