Friends

Thank you for friends God. It seems that in the most difficult moments in life, it is our friends that you use to be your voice of wisdom and comfort. And when we are celebrating a wonderful event, it is those same friends that rejoice with us, becoming your arms to envelope us in a congratulatory hug. It is our friends who become, as Mother Teresa explained, the "pencils in God's hands". What would we do without our friends?

And God, please help us to be the same kind of friend to the people in our lives who also long for your presence. Help us to be your arms reaching out for a hug, or your legs running a much needed errand, or your spirit lending a listening ear. Help us to be you on earth.

Thank you for our friends.

Mornings

Thank you for mornings God! I love waking up to a new day and feeling optimistic about what the day holds. Everything seems better in the morning light and no matter what yesterday held, today is a new day.

And thank you for your promise to walk with me as I go through this new day. Thank you that I have the confidence of your presence and courage that comes from knowing you are with me.

Thank you for mornings God.

Decisions

I have decisions to make and I don't know how to make them. I have prayed about them, I've meditated on Biblical passages, I've sought out the counsel of others - and nothing. I don't know what my decisions are supposed to be.

It doesn't seem quite fair, God, that you know everything about me, from the number of hairs on my head to the groanings of my heart, and yet I have such a hard time finding the answers to the decisions I have to make in my life. Couldn't you, in your infinite wisdom and power, have worked out a better way to help us know what we are supposed to do when faced with our dilemmas? I am willing and able to do what you want me to do. But I need to know what that is.

The question of your will is the most confusing of all to me. I am seeking it but not finding it. Help me Lord. Just help me make a decision, please!

Autumn

This autumn has me thinking about the stage of life I am in, which could only be considered "autumn". As a middle-aged woman I know that I have already lived more than half my life, and that is a strange feeling. For so many years you feel as though you are looking into the future and then suddenly, the future is a bit more uncertain. Children leave home, friends get sick, parents die - life changes when you get older, and the things that are important to us change as well. Family and friends demand more attention because we realize that at the end of the day they are the things that really matter, not how much money we made or how important we were. "Things" seem to drop away in our list of priorities and people suddenly come to the fore.

The Bible teaches us this lesson over and over again if we care to see it. We are told that only the things of heaven are important and the things of earth will fall away. We are taught to take care of each other and not worry so much about ourselves or the things we are able to accumulate. We are advised to pay more attention to our souls and less attention to our possessions.

As young people it is hard to understand those lessons but as older ones we see the wisdom of what God tries to teach us. It's frustrating to try to pass those lessons on to our children and grandchildren because we know that, just like we once were, they are only looking forward. If only we could share our perspective.

God's lessons are timeless and true. We all need to heed them more fully. At least I know I do.

Beautiful days

I am so grateful for beautiful days. I think that I can tolerate lots of bad weather - including many days of rain or snow - as long as I can be promised a bright and sunny day when the worst is over. Because a beutiful day like today makes everything better. The mood lifts, the spirit soars, and suddenly, all's right with the world. Even in the dead of winter, a wonderful sunny day following a snow sotrm is like a tonic for the soul and we gladly pull on the boots and head out into the world. What a difference the weather makes.

On days like today I need to take the time to say thanks and enjoy a gift from God. Because perfect days are rare enough to be special and yet common enough to be taken for granted.

Morning church

There are many reasons that I attend church, among them are the opportunity for focused worship and fellowship with the community of believers. But another is the opportunity to learn from the teaching there and this morning I was especially pleased at the lesson I brought home with me. It was something in the liturgy (and I am not a big fan of liturgy so this is big for me!) that struck me. We were doing the "call to worship" when we read this line: We are here not to escape from the world but to be more profoundly involved in it.

Hummmm. I so enjoy my "escape" every Sunday to the peace of the worship service. And here I am being challenged not to think of it as an escape but rather a call to duty. How interesting!

Of course - our Christian walk is many things, and peaceful meditation is certainly one of them. But being involved in our communities and being the conduit for change is also one of them, and I think being reminded of that is a good thing. It is way too easy to sit back and allow others to minister to us. It is so much more difficult to reach out and minister to others.

It was a lesson that was worth repeating and I am glad I was there to hear it.

Overwhelming grace

Dear God sometimes I am overwhelmed with your grace. I feel unworthy of the smallest gifts and yet you continue to give them freely. I don't know how to express my gratitude.

Help me to have a gracious heart Lord. Help me to not take things for granted. And allow me always to see your hand at work so I never assume that I am accomplishing things solely on my own merit.

Thank you God for my life, for my home, for my family. And thank you most of all for your touch. I am humbled by it.