I’ll confess, I love little sayings and expressions that help me refocus whenever I’m in a pinch or when I don’t feel like moving forward. There is a movie I have really enjoyed called “Finding Nemo.” Within this
movie, there is a few characters within the story who help each other when things get a bit out of the norm… out of control. One fish is the father (Marlin) who is raising a little fish named Nemo, who has an impaired flipper/fin. Nemo has been protected by his dad due to his seeming disability. Another fish has memory issues (Dory). Nemo ends up going out of the protective area that his father wanted him to stay
in and swims out into the big ocean on an adventure where he meets sea turtles and many other new sea and aquatic life. The movie follows the father-fish (Marlin) and his friend (Dory) as they search for the child-fish, Nemo. Dory’s memory issues prompt her to create some coping mechanisms, and the story is quite funny as Dory tries to remember what she was trying to do and where she was going. One of
her mantras that she tells herself is to “Just Keep Swimming.”

Dory uses this expression to encourage herself and others to keep moving forward, no matter how difficult things seem. She uses the phrase to calm herself and give herself the strength to never give up. There seems to be a lesson in the phrase, as it teaches the idea that we have power over our actions and should keep moving to get through hard times. Dory sings the song to “Just Keep Swimming” to cheer up
Marlin when he feels defeated in his quest. Dory sings a song to “Just Keep Swimming” as self-talk in her efforts to continue to persevere.

I have started this year of 2025 telling myself, “Just Keep Swimming.” Maybe you have, too. The end of 2024 included some hard times for some families associated with our congregation, such that we have 2 funerals for one family within the first 2 weeks of the New Year. That’s hard. I feel that with you and
with the families. Prior to this Christmas-week struggle, we had serious illnesses or injuries among some of our active members. I feel that, too. We shared nearly 250 Christmas ornaments and invitations with our community members, praying and longing for people to join us in our Advent celebrations. While we
did have some join us (Praise God!), our attendance on Sunday, December 22nd and on Christmas Eve was not even close to the 250 invites we shared. I was hoping and believing for more! I was longing and praying for pews filled-beyond-capacity that we would need to pull in chairs to have everyone fit! Are we able to face how that makes us feel? Did God let us down? Is He telling us something? I’d say: Yes, No, and Yes. Yes, we have to face that not every seed we plant will grow a huge harvest. We plant anyway. No, God did not let us down… those Christmas ornaments may be hanging on the trees around this community for years to come. Who knows who will come in our doors one day in the future, because of that invitation?! And yes, God is telling us to “just keep swimming.” We are fishers of men. We keep casting our nets on His behalf.

I pray for you, my brothers and sisters. If you are weary and have found a lot of obstacles in front of you, or faced some very difficult times as 2024 ended, remember: God
is with you. He is beside you. He is encouraging you. He is FOR YOU! And… as Dory says, “Just Keep Swimming!”

God bless you as we have entered this new year of 2025!

~Pastor Kim