Ordinary Time

Pause

It is the nature of God to Care.

The Creator of the universe invests in our lives through direct intervention and through the care of others.

Sometimes we just need to have eyes to capture the vision, ears to catch the rhythm, and a heart to respond to God’s call.

Listen

The widow went and did what Elijah said. So the widow, Elijah, and the widow’s household ate for many days. The jar of flour didn’t decrease nor did the bottle of oil run out, just as the Lord spoke through Elijah.

1 Kings 17:15-16

Think

Just enough, just in time, never more than you need, never sooner than you need it. In my younger days that was my mantra, but as I’ve gotten older with a steady job and other privileges that give me a false sense of control, I lean into those hopes of the faith less than I used to.

There is something about not seeing absolutely how life is going to happen that leads to a different and deeper relationship with the Creator. Not an irresponsible approach to life, but a hopeful one that is open to the mystery of being a Child of God.

Things like doing everything I could do to get a scholarship for my last semester and in the moment of desperation and despair, going to my mailbox and finding a check from my church for exactly the amount I needed. An anonymous donor had provided the resources, and to this day I do not know who they were, but I do know that God was in it.

Wanda Kidd

Pray

God, you call me to a life of faith. Help me to remember that I am not in charge of all things, but in my relationship with you comes the promise that you journey with me not only in the good times but in the hard times as well. Amen.

Go

Care is an engaging word. If we care, then we are compelled to respond to the needs we see around us. Sometimes it requires action, sometimes it simply calls for our presence, but it always propels us to see the world with Christ-like compassion and grace.

Remember today: we do not always know what someone is going through.