Invested in faith – week 3
Driven by faith
Musical interlude
We are not alone, God is with us
Riverside Choir
Words and music by Pepper Choplin
Listen now
(via YouTube)
Words to ponder
When “all you unknowingly leaned on has fallen”*
By Sara Wenger Shenk
When unrelenting stress bears down, freighting every moment with worry
When it dawns on you that this isn’t going to end anytime soon
When fear that the world you knew has ended clutches your chest
When overnight you have to reinvent your job, family life, and everyday routines
When you don’t know which public officials or news reports you can trust
When each day brings ominous new tidings and government orders
When what seemed like a manageable time-out turns into an unrelenting slog
When it’s not clear whether everything will be okay ever again
When low grade desperation turns into panic that life may spin out of control
When “all you unknowingly leaned on has fallen”
Remember.
Remember that balance comes with slowing down, taking stock, repositioning one’s feet.
Remember there are ways to recover one’s footing, on more solid ground.
Remember that it is possible to find a new normal.
Remember there are deep wells you’d forgotten existed.
Remember there are tried and true ways to draw water from those wells.
Remember that all of life is gift: air to breathe, sunlight, daily bread, sleep, water.
Remember what is ultimate: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
So breathe. Deeply. Slowly. Over and over.
Focus on a point of light (candle) or something beautiful (flower, sky, tree, icon).
Breathe thanks for what is given: greening trees, cup of coffee, bed for sleep, roof over your head…
Open your hands. Receive what is given with thanksgiving.
Remember how Jesus, on receiving five small loaves and two small fish, gave thanks.
Remember how by sharing what was given, all were fed.
Learn how thanksgiving for what is given shifts your focus away from loss—toward possibility.
Discover the new normal that grows from small things—received with thanksgiving.
Rediscover that God’s mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22)
*Phrase from John O’Donohue “For Courage”
Reprinted with permission
Stories of hope and action
Remembering that we are surrounded by good and that we can make a difference.
- Himalayas visible for first time in 30 years as pollution levels in India drop
- Minneapolis creates $5 million COVID-19 relief fund available to undocumented residents
- Praxis invests in African Development Bank's first COVID-19 social bond
For further reflection
This week, Herald Press editors have chosen an excerpt from the book
Tree of Life
Each Sunday, I would lift up a copy of the Bible and say, “The stories of God and the stories of humanity,” as I opened it and placed it on the cedar stump in the center of the sanctuary. Next, I would light the candle and invoke the words from the first chapter of the Gospel of John, proclaiming the light of Christ that shines in the darkness and is not overcome. I invited people to look around and remember that it is also the light they are seeing in each other’s eyes—that divine spark in every human being. If there were children there for worship, I would then invite them to help me pour water. As it flowed from the stainless-steel bottle into the ceramic bowl that lived on our altar and doubled as a bee bath, we would remember the water of life and of baptism, the water that renews us and reminds us that each and every moment is an opportunity for a new beginning. Then I would dig in the basket, along with the children, until we found the bread and the cup for communion. I lifted them high in the air as a reminder that we were gathered around God’s table where all are welcome to feed and be fed.
If you like what you read, you can purchase the book online and receive a 20% discount by using the code PRAXIS.
Be well, be renewed, be at peace.
From all of us at Praxis Mutual Funds