Devotions Week of June 17

Sunday June 17- Ps. 20:3 fits a father’s Day blessing: “may the Lord grant your heart’s desire, and fulfill all of your plans.” Contemporary fathers seem to me to be making up their role on the fly, as the old roles have fallen in respect and as models. That is a tough task. May discernment and clarity become part of the daily outfit of being a father, along with the ties and BBQ aprons that seem to sprout as presents.. Please consider praying for fathers this week. Monday-VBS is this week. I like how we try to engage different aspects of learning to be centered on our biblical themes. I love how we utilize the nature Institute as a setting for considering God as Creator and our responsibilities toward that creation. w eget so much help; it is a real community commitment. Do you have memories of VBS as a child? What impresses you about it at this stage in your life? Tuesday-2 Cor 5:17 was one of the readings on Sunday, “so if anyone is in Christ, new creation is here; everything old has passed away, see everything has become new.” Paul gets so excited the grammar breaks down a bit in this hymn to a new chapter in human life. In baptism, every day holds new spiritual promise. We need not be burdened by the guilt of the past. Where do you crave newness in your life right now? Wednesday- Preparing for my trip last week, I tried to be efficient and load a lot of work into a short space. If you go too far with that, it becomes an enemy and actually decreases effectiveness and efficiency. Jesus does not seem to be in a hurry in the gospel narratives. His time was so short in his ministry, yet, he goes about with supreme attention to the moment at hand. He takes time to pray throughout the narrative flow. Thursday- I go back to the radiation specialist today. I have healed fairly well after the radiation, but am a bit disappointed that I am not all better yet. We want thing sot be instant in general, especially when in pain. One of the reasons I grew a garden when the girls were younger was to show them that some things take time and cannot be rushed. Not only physical healing, but spiritual healing may well be of the same character. Sanctification is a lifelong process. Friday-The days are already now growing shorter, as the solstice has past. Will you look at daylight as more vital, as the days grow shorter? Does it have an impact on your mood, as the sands run out of the hourglass of our own lives? Does less daylight push you toward making more of the light? Consider reflecting on the image of light’s duration in terms of one’s spiritual life. Saturday-We have a memorial service today. Memory is one of our most precious gifts. It comes close to bringing an image back to life. The grief literature has been emphasizing continuing bonds with our loved ones. Some emotional wounds may be closed, but memory helps a relationship persist. We look at pictures and images come storing back into our lives. it is often a bittersweet experience, those memories, but one well worth taking in our own inner journeys.