Ordinary Time

Pause

It’s an important part of your identity, going to the root of who you are. It speaks to where you come from and, to a large degree, where you are going.

So whose child are you?

Since God is our source, we are children of God, made to be loved and to thrive. In these next few moments, consider who has birthed you into the world and who is nurturing you along the way.

Listen

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Romans 8:18–21

Think

Going through a difficult time can really feel miserable. We might wonder: “When will life get any better?” We might wonder: “Does God really hear me when I pray?” We might wonder: “Why is this happening to me?”

Yet, Scriptures like today’s remind us that part of what it means to be human is to suffer. No one (no matter how they look from the outside) has a life without troubles. No one gets to escape feeling sad, lonely, or depressed from time to time. But even in those times, we are never without hope! This is what it means to be a member of God’s family. As a child of God, we can know that, as the saint Julian of Norwich once said, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

Though we may not see how God is taking care of us in every moment of our lives, we can trust as children of God that one day all shall be well.

Elizabeth Evans Hagan

Pray

Jesus, help me to remember that what I see in front of me right now is not all there is. As I wait with you, you’ve not left me alone. Amen.

Go

Strong, gentle children, God made you beautiful, gave you the wisdom and power you need; speak in the stillness all you are longing for; live out your calling to love and to lead.

From “Strong, Gentle Children” by Dan Damon