A Composite of many Influences

Have you ever wondered about the complexities of our lives . . I mean, why do we do certain things, why do we behave certain ways, why do we say certain things certain ways. I remember growing up wanting to be just like the people I admired. I would watch them for hours hoping that I would begin to either talk like them, walk like them or even begin to look like them. I so wanted to be that hockey player, that singer, that preacher . . .

I now stand in the mirror almost everyday and say hello to my father. I never thought I would look like him. I am even starting to sound like him and talk like him. My laugh is just like his. My children and my wife look at me sometimes and wonder if my dad has somehow taken over my body because I so resemble him. And by the way, that's not a bad thing. After spending so much time studying my dad when I was young, I am now just like him.

People are so complex! I am so complex, you are so complex but that is what makes us unique. We all are composites of the many influences that we have allowed in our lives. And that is cool because there is no one on this planet just like you. Can you imagine two of me . . . my wife and my kids shutter at the thought.

We are all unique . . . and that is what I love about people, their uniqueness. As I think about this new church plant I get so excited about the uniqueness it will have. I get anxious to see what it will look like in a year or two. I have a certain idea of what it will look like and what it will be like, but the reality is I don't know what God is going to do as He brings so many different people to this church.

We are all composites of many influences in our lives . . . my prayer is that the Church by the Canal will take on its own unique look. I look forward to see what God is going to make as He begins to mold and fashion the clay of this church into whatever vessel He wants to make. One thing is for sure, the greatest influence that this church can experience is that of Jesus Himself. Let's pray that God will do a wonderful work of grace in Thorold and the surrouning areas and let Him build His church the way He wants it to be.