Saturday, March 3, 2012

Dear God,

Please tell me about the seasons of life, how they work, what they are supposed to do, and when we are to prepare ourselves for a particularly difficult season.  Show me life as it should be lived, I pray.

This week a teenager randomly murdered other teenagers at school.  Tornadoes destroyed homes and killed moms, dads, and kids.  In Syria innocent people were gunned down.  In Africa children died of starvation .  In many unstable places neighbors rose up against neighbors.  And all over the world men, women, and children were taken down through domestic violence and war.

How do we survive during these horrific seasons of life?  How do we trust more, practice our faith, and live with hope?  How do we welcome your love into our lives, bringing us back to life?  How do we thrive on courage in the face of danger?

I weep when I see the suffering and pain some people have to endure.  It's not that I wonder why because the why question never has a reasonable answer.  It's that I wonder how long or how to help or what to do to learn lessons as life unfolds.  I wonder how to reach for the next season when a painful season seems to hang on forever.  I wonder how we remember we are never alone in any season of life.

How do we live in faith every day no matter what happens around us?  How do we grab hold of your hand and never let it go?  How do we rise from our graves to live another day knowing we can indeed live it?

Great and Powerful God,
teach us
the ways
of faith,
hope, grace,
forgiveness, mercy,
and love.
Guide us
to courage,
strength and joy.
Make us yours
as we walk
through the valleys
of the shadow
of death,
I pray.

Love, Andrea