Scripture
Proverbs 4: 20 – 22
“My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to the one’s whole body”
Isaiah 41: 10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Reflection
I spoke last week about God’s presence with us and in some ways this builds on that idea. I was having a conversation with an acquaintance the other day and we were talking about grief. She had experienced a profound loss a few short years ago and continues to struggle to this day. During the conversation we spoke of how there are many times, when in the midst of struggle, our feelings seem to ebb and flow. There are some days when we can function pretty well and then there are other days when it is sometimes all we can do to pull ourselves out of bed. In the midst of this conversation we spoke about how there are things in our lives, that we must go through that have a deep impact on our entire being. I have been wondering, again, about this idea of struggle and grief. I think that part of my wondering has came from a line in a song that I was listening to the other day, “The Living Years” from Mike and The Mechanics. There is one line that goes, “I wasn’t there that morning/ When my father passed away/ I didn’t get to tell him/ All the things I had to say.” These few lines hit me hard, as they spoke to the truth and reality of my experience, and it brought back grief around my father’s passing. It actually surprised me, that after all these years, the grief coulc come back in such a sudden and powerful way. What I realized in the midst this experience is that we all have times in our lives when we must go through challenges that do have a deep impact on us, but I wonder if it is much more, there are those struggles in our lives that actually end up changing us. I found this anonymous quote that speaks to this idea, “I am not who I was before. The pain changed me. The healing shaped me. And for the first time, I feel whole. I used to think healing meant returning to who I was, but now I see….healing is becoming someone new, someone wiser, someone softer, someone stronger.”
Often times when we go through times of struggle and strife, in our lives, we expect that we will eventually get back to where we were, but I wonder if that is true. I believe that times of great struggle and grief, actually fundamentally change us. As we go through these times we are changed, the circumstances of our lives have changed and in this it is no longer possible for us to go back to who we were before. The challenge then becomes for us, how do I live in the midst of this new reality and who am I now after I have gone through what I have experienced? I have been wondering about these challenges that fundamentally change our lives and how does one even begin to move forward again?
The scriptures that I chose might just give us some indication. If we begin by looking at the scripture from Isaiah we are reassured, in this passage, of God’s presence with us. Not only are we assured of God’s presence but we are reminded that in recognizing God’s presence with us, we are strengthened, we are given help, and we will be upheld. In the midst of the fear that comes with struggle, strife, and grief, the fear that usually accompanies fundamental change, we are assured that God is with us. In our fear, God is there. The scripture from Proverbs then builds on this idea. Proverbs speaks to this idea of keeping God’s words in our hearts at all times. The writer of Proverbs speaks to the fact that when we keep God’s words in our hearts, they are life to us. In the midst of challenge and struggle, God’s words to us, God’s care, love, and presence for us, bring life to us. As we navigate the challenges of life, whether that be individually or in community, God’s words can bring comfort and in that comfort we might just find the hope that we need in order to move forward into our new realities. It is God’s presence, in all of its forms, that can carry us through those challenging times of life. It is God’s presence, in all of its forms that can give us strength when our strength fails. It is sometimes difficult for us to come to terms with the fact that as we come through times of great struggle, strife, challenge, or grief, we will not be the same person we were before. We have been changed and this holds true for communities as well, but if we trust in God’s presence, we will persevere, yes, we will be changed, but we will persevere.
Prayer
God of our journeys, help us to know that as we journey through this thing called life there will be great challenges, grief, and strife. Give us the courage to know that some of these challenges will fundamentally change who we are, and help us to know that through it all you are with us. Give us the wisdom to know that when we are faced with these times we are not able to go back to being who were were previously. Allow your strength to be our strength and help us to know that we are being upheld in your love throughout it all. We ask this in the name of your son, Jesus. Amen.
Peace and blessings, Rev. Patrick Woodbeck
Minister Grey Street United/ The Big Red Church (Gordon-King Memorial United)