A Word of Thanks (Greg's Sabbatical 2022

by Greg Kay Dear Spring Garden, Thank you so much for the deep blessing of a sabbatical this past Spring and Summer. My family and I are very aware of the sacrifice that it takes for you the church to have one of its paid staff disappear for a few months, and we did not receive the gift lightly! While my time away had many ups and downs, it was overall a time of much needed rest, reading, reflection and recreation. I had some wonderful opportunities to be still and be present to God’s presence in daily prayerful contemplation as well as two overnight prayer retreats. I also had a lot of opportunity to enjoy being with my daughters and Monica my wife. We had lots of fun and adventures together, not to mention simply being together more during the ebbs and flows of daily life. My family and I are deeply thankful for the gift, so thank you! While I had many places of learning and growing in my faith, there 5

are two encouragements I received from God that I’d like to share with you. The first is Psalm 27:13-14—well, the Psalm as a whole was a place of encouragement and hope for me, but those two verses particularly stood out to me. I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

You don’t need me to tell you that there are a lot of things in life and in the world that can cause us to ask, “God, where are you in all of this?”. When my eyes can’t see and my heart is failing, this hope that we “will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” stirs a hope and a faith in me, giving me strength to “wait for the Lord; [to] be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”. Another Scripture that I was led to which has helped strengthen my faith and resolve, similar to Psalm 27:11’s “teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path” is Proverbs 4:25-27: Let Your eyes look straight ahead; Fix your gaze directly before you Give careful thoughts to the paths for your feet And be steadfast in all your ways Do not turn to the right or the left Keep your feet from evil When I wrestle(d) with doubts about where I sensed God was calling me, when I question(ed) whether the convictions upon my heart were placed there by God, God placed this passage before my eyes, I feel, as a reminder and an encouragement to trust in the Spirit’s leading and to persevere in the path(s) that God has placed before me. I am thankful for you, Spring Garden Church, and for your care for me and my family. I look forward to the days ahead of us as we seek to keep our eyes fixed ahead of us—fixed on Jesus, the author and pioneer of our faith—as we walk forward on the path(s) God is calling us. May we see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 6