By Larry McGuire, president of seventy

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. O continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your salvation to the upright of heart!

I enjoy walking in my neighborhood, and it’s not unusual to take a walk after 11:00 a.m. so I can have some time to clear my head from earlier conversations or meetings. This was an unusual August day; the temperature was still under 100 F by 1:00 p.m. (98!). I grabbed some water, put my air pods in, found some music, and took off walking. I begin my walks by praying the Mission Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer as part of my daily discipline of being shaped by God’s Spirit.

I like to pay attention to the others out walking, working in their garage, or watering flowers. This afternoon there wasn’t anyone out. The music was wonderful—a slight breeze and blue sky. I was mindful of a family in India whose teenage son had died the night before from Dengue fever, a colleague and his family in grief from the death of a child, a family member waiting for confirmation of a cancer diagnosis, and I was wrestling with what was God asking me to do as a next faithful step. All on my mind as I walked.

After a little while, I decided to take advantage of a bench in the shade. I sat, enjoyed some water, relaxed, closed my eyes, and just listened to the music. I was listening to Carrie Newcomer and the song, “Where You Been.” The chorus is, “Brother, where you been? Hold on if you can. Just do your best, then say, ‘Amen.’”

I was struck by the words and how they were guiding me for what I call my “daily bread” moment. A friend texted and simply told me they were praying for me as they sensed a wrestling in my soul. Another daily bread moment.

As I sat pondering, offering gratitude for the daily bread moments, and holding space for others, I suddenly realized a car had pulled up in front of me. They put down the window and asked if I was ok, if I needed water or a ride. I said thank you for checking but I’m enjoying a walk and had just sat down in prayer and was enjoying the shade. He replied that he was just making sure I was ok, and then he said, “It’s how I try to be a neighbor.” I thanked him for taking the time to stop and for the blessing of being a neighbor.

As I sat for a few more minutes and pondered that short conversation, I recognized that even though families grieve, people anxiously wait for diagnosis or treatment, and I experience uncertainty about many aspects of life and ministry, there was an experience on a bench with someone from the neighborhood and indeed, it was another reminder of living the Mission Prayer—awaken, risk, and bless even on a bench in the neighborhood.

Prayer Phrase

“…he has given us a new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).

Spiritual Practice

Weaving a Life

Hold, or imagine yourself holding, a piece of patterned cloth. Examine it carefully. Notice overlapping threads mingling colors that form the design. Write a journal entry or meditate about the threads and patterns of your life. What design do you see? How does the life pattern you are weaving create justice and wholeness in God’s world? What new pattern is God calling you to weave in 2025?

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.