Who You Gonna Call?

       People often think that pastors have it all together went it comes to faith and spirituality.  After all, we're the experts, right?  Well, as they say around here, "Not so much".  That's why I like to tell this story on myself because it shows how we all need constant reminding and teaching.  Also, with all the disastrous flooding going on, the eleven years I spent working for Lutheran Disaster Response have been on my mind.
       One night, I woke up around 2:00 in the morning.  I had spent hours trying to fall asleep and I just couldn't sleep anymore.  I was trying desperately to find help for a young family.  When they came to me, it was a year and half after they had been evacuated from their flooded home by boat.  Their circumstances were dire.  The husband had been disabled by an accident right after the flood, the young daughter had serious medical issues, and mom was the caretaker.  Between his hospitalization and other things, they had received no significant help for themselves and all they all lost (possessions and car) and their home.  Because so much time had passed, response programs had closed.
        Everyone I contacted (governmental and volunteer) agreed that this family needed and deserved help in recovery but their early registration and paperwork had been lost, blocking them from the biggest sources of aid.  I had spent days and hours on the phone trying to be as creative as I could, talking to everyone I could think of on a state and national level.
       That night as I sat on the edge of the bed in tears, I kept thinking 'if there was only somebody I could talk to who was big enough or who had enough power to make a difference'.  I sat there like that for at least half an hour when suddenly it hit me.  Duh! I should pray.  So I prayed and finally slept well. And the people did get the help they needed.
       One of the things I appreciate about the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) is that they are not stories about perfect people.  In fact, the disciples are continually forgetting or not listening to or disagreeing with what Jesus is teaching them.  Peter denies Jesus (John 18: 25-27), Thomas doubts the resurrection (John 20: 24-29), and the Canaanite woman argues theology with him (Matthew 15:22-28).  If even those who knew him face-to-face had troubles, then there is hope for you and me.
        Jesus promises that no matter how heavy our burdens, how big our problems, we do not have to carry them alone.  Like me that night, we forget to come to Jesus in prayer, or we try to handle them by ourselves until we are so overwhelmed or in such a hard place that all we can do is ask for help.  Many times we are our own problem and stand in our own way.
       But God is patient with us.  God always listens and Jesus is always ready to give us peace.  God is always bigger and stronger than any problem or evil that comes our way and we are never left alone.  Don't wait until you find yourself sitting on the edge of the bed in tears, let Jesus share your burdens.  Read Matthew 11:28-30.

Tag, You're It!

    
       After I drove up to the country church Sunday morning, I took a moment to just sit and breathe.  It's my habit to do that when I am arriving somewhere to begin a task (in this case to preach and lead worship).  I use that brief time for a deep breath to relax and to center myself in my new surroundings.         Out at Augustana, I also use it to take in the beautiful surroundings of the church, the wind in the trees, the serenity of the churchyard and cemetery, and often the songs of the birds.  Of course all bets are off if it is twenty below zero!
       As I looked around, I noticed a very small squirrel sitting on a pump by the road.  Then it jumped down and half-bounced and half-ran over to a big tree in front of the church.  Just as it was about to run up the tree trunk, a robin flew down and began nattering at it, chasing it away from the tree by running after it while flapping its wings.  The squirrel must have been a young one because it was barely bigger than the robin from nose to tail end.
       When they got near the church, the bird flew a bit and landed in front of the squirrel who then started to chase the robin who ran ahead instead of flying off.  At the church steps, the robin turned again to go after the squirrel who ran off into the bushes.  The robin stood waiting and watching where the squirrel entered.  After a long pause, the squirrel tore out of the other end of the bushes and ran across the yard and up into the closest tree in the cemetery.
       I sat still to watch the whole scene because I was afraid that if I moved or made a noise, the whole game would have ended.  It was so much fun to watch this little game of play out over the green grass in the sunshine.  I know I went in church with a big smile on my face for the gift of joy I would have missed if I had been in too much of a hurry to notice God's creation around me.
       God takes delight and joy in creation.  We know this from the creation story at the beginning of Genesis.  In spite of all the years of argument and discussion, it tells us that God spoke creation ("And God said...") and that God found everything created to be good.  It is not a science lesson but a faith lesson.  The power of God is such that when God speaks, creation happens.  And God finds creation good.  I have found that my life is in better balance when I take the time to notice that same good in creation.
       As a young mother, I found it frustrating to read about spirituality and prayer time.  It always seemed like the instructions focused on silence, meditation, and time away from normal life.  I felt that when I needed support the most, the resources didn't exist that I could use.  There were days I could barely find the time to go to the bathroom in solitude much less go on retreat.  So, I began to cobble together a spiritual life made of small moments of awareness and quiet; much like that pause before getting out of the car.
       I know that it doesn't compare with the solitude and quiet focus of the cloister, but taking time to breathe deep and to be aware of creation and the creator are important to my faith and prayer life.  It's a reminder of the beauty God created and of God's immense power and love.  Many times, those pauses are also a moment of prayer for what I am about to begin or the people I am about to encounter; even a simple cry of "help".  Or like Sunday morning, they are a gift that brightens my day and lightens my load.  Read Genesis 1:20-31

Birdsongs of Praise

      The days are longer and warmer now.  The sun comes up earlier and earlier and with the sun, come the birds.  There are several birds nesting in the trees around the yard and they begin singing long before the sun comes over the horizon.
        The other morning, I woke up just before five-thirty.  The sun hadn't risen yet but the sky was gray and lightening up enough to see clearly.  It wasn't the light that woke me up though.  It was the birds and one in particular who was in the tree not far from the bathroom window.
        In the stillness of the dawn the bird song was so loud, it almost echoed.  It was bright, jaunty, and lyrical.  In the cool air coming in through the window, the song beckoned me to wake up and enjoy the new day.  It was such a clear and beautiful song, it reminded me of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem; what is called Palm Sunday.  When Jesus rides the donkey into the city and the people cry out in praise, those in authority tell Jesus to order everyone to stop.  Jesus answers, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."  (Luke 19:40)  No composer could write a more beautiful song of praise.
       I stood and listened to the bird's song, gradually joined by other birds.  I lingered for a while but I confess, I soon took my chilly feet and crawled back into bed and went back to sleep.  Morning is not my time of day.
       Now my husband gets up with the sun, usually before his alarm goes off and he is ready to go.  He is like the birds, ready to greet the sun with song.  Me?  I'm more like the cartoon cat Garfield, ready to pull the blankets over my head and wish that morning would come back later.
       And yet as I listened to the bird that morning in the pristine stillness as the sky lightened, I fell in love with the beginning of the day in spite of myself.  A few hours later, when I got up for the day, I tried to hang on to that joy and greet the day with that same sense of joy and hope-filled possibilities.
       I don't think we can change our biorhythms; the slight changes in the lightening of the sky are not enough to wake me up with a song just itching to be sung.  However, I know that my day goes better when I face it with hope.  It wasn't the music of the birdsong that changed my morning but rather that the beauty of the birdsong reconnected me to the Creator, to God, the source of power, life, and hope.
       There are times when facing a new day with hope just feels impossible because of what we carry with us from yesterday: our failures and ourselves.  Sometimes that burden has even kept us awake during the night, robbing us of healing sleep.  But out of love, God sent Jesus that we can be forgiven.  That  forgiveness makes that hope possible no matter what did or didn't happen in all our yesterdays.  The hope of the new day does not rely on us but is a gift from God.

       Whether you wake up in the morning smiling and singing or feeling like you'd rather hit the sun with a giant snooze button, reconnecting with God will do more to make the day go better than any cup of coffee.  Some people enjoy reading devotions or praying in the stillness before anyone else wakes up; some days, a prayer from under the covers may be the best that we can manage.  It can be taking a moment to listen, or see, or smell the freshness of the morning or snuggling next to someone we love.  Find your morning touchstone that allows you to begin your day with God and remember that whatever the day brings, you do not face it alone.  Read Psalm 118:21-24