By Shandra Newcom of Independence, Missouri USA

If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

Things are changing. For some, it feels like the changes have come quickly, but in reality we always have been a people of change. Congregational life is different, depending on where in the world you worship. But change transcends our physical separation. Congregations grow or shrink. People find belonging within our offerings, or they leave for any number of reasons.

We face new ways of understanding the world, and we respond with hope or fear. Worship styles evolve. People age, and youth find reasons to be somewhere other than at a traditional Sunday-morning service.

My default way of responding to all of this is to rush us through, get beyond the unknown future, and settle into what is next. I want to skip all the parts of our journey that take time, that seem slow, that deserve attention.

In the middle of everything, I find myself remembering the phrase: “Let the Spirit breathe.”

Breathing cannot be rushed without becoming stressed or anxious. Breathing is a gift, and when it becomes shallow, we aren’t able to experience fully what God has given to us: life.

We cannot be rushed either. God is at work in the world. In our discernment, imagining, and hope we shine a light on what lies ahead. Step by step we move, in community, toward God’s call for our future as a people and as a world. It is to this that we are called: intentional movement toward the reign of God.

So, I will wait patiently. I will be grateful for every slow step; for every connection, no matter how late; for every time we choose a depth of discernment over shallow decisions. I will trust in the process and let myself be beloved.

While we wait as God’s beloved, may we be grateful for the journey and let patience be our way.

Prayer Phrase

“Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

Intercessory Reflection

Sit quietly with your eyes closed as you enter intercessory reflection and prayer. Ask God to bring people who need prayer to your mind and heart. Be open to images of the people or spiritual insight into their needs. Listen for signals from their lives and let the depth of God’s love for them become powerful and real to you. Write, speak, or think a prayer of blessing and healing for these much–loved disciples and friends. Ask God to help you see ways to affirm and support them when you meet them in daily life.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.