Message from Pastor Stanton for Feb, 2026
As I write this newsletter, my favorite football teams all lost, our political world is in turmoil and it’s below zero outside. These are the dog days of Winter! All joking? aside, February has always been the month I struggle through the most, for a variety of reasons. From what I understand, I am not alone.
Years ago, Carla and I decided that in order to get through the darkness, cold and monotony of February (and March!) we should enter each winter armed with some “LFTs”: “Looking Forward To’s.” Every couple of weeks, there had better be SOMEthing special to do, to see, to experience or to share. So, we’d circle some dates when we planned to make a special feast for no reason but to manufacture an LFT. Go out of town for an overnight with an old friend, check out a new restaurant, schedule a movie marathon, get tickets to a show. LFTs help, for sure. What are yours?
Another strategy I’ve heard about from many among our church is to use the winter months to prepare for the spring and summer to come. Maybe there’s a special outdoor project you have in mind, or a trip that requires lots of planning. More popular and powerful than any other such dreaming project, though, are the dreams of gardeners.
Those who garden vegetables and love to do so, have a relationship with dirt. They have a feel for the moisture of the ground. They notice more than the weather. They sense the earth awakening. I am not one of these people, but admire them from afar. Maybe one day…
February is the perfect time to dream about the gardens that just a few months from now will be primed and planted with all kinds of potential. If you are such a dreamer, would you be willing to add First Lutheran’s garden to your gardening dreams?
First Lutheran has a wonderful history of producing vegetables for area food pantries throughout the summer and fall months. We need a new team of gardeners, though, willing to plan, plant, cultivate, water and harvest our garden this year. Steve Lind is ‘in,’ so you wouldn’t be doing it alone. It’s a community garden that no singular person or family is responsible for.
If you’re interested in joining our team, let me know (jason@firstlu.org) and we’ll add you to the group who will get together in March as we plan out what kind of abundance to reap in the fall.
