The pastor had a pretty great sermon this morning about God meeting us in the joys of life, the sorrows and on the edge of the wilderness.... and all the places in between.
I carried the message with me as I went about cleaning the house after church. I often have a sense of meeting up with God this time of year, but where... how?
I thought of all the beautiful things...
warm days,
newly blossoming flowers,
sunsets over mountains,
my kids innocent play,
Zander's giggle.
I wanted to write a nice flowery post about God being in those things. I'm sure God is there. But that is not where I found God most this week.
God came in the form of questions and struggle.
My own questions about parenting in a way that mimics the Gospel.
A friend who called to talk through an incident that had happened to her and how she felt like responding.
Another friend who texted about same-sex marriages and questions of faith.
I found God so clearly present in these struggles with ourselves, our faith, our world. Struggles to make the Gospel real and relevant today as it was when Jesus walked the earth. Nicodemous moments, where we honestly ask -- seriously, how can you be born again or born from above -- what does that even mean?
I think those difficult conversations are a place where God has shown up. Challenging me beyond my neat square beliefs and reminding me, no matter how big I try to make my box, God will not be contained to it.
I will be praying for you all, that God shows up in this Lenten journey for each of you. Maybe it will be a beautiful moment of breathing in the creator of this amazing natural world... or maybe it will be an uncomfortable conversation that makes you grow and think differently. I'll add my two cents that you'd prefer the first, and so would I. But those uncomfortable conversations are holy, sacred and important.
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