Ordinary Time

Pause

“I feel so alive!” We all have experiences that can make us shout that phrase. But we can also feel those occasions don’t come along often enough and we long to know that feeling again, especially in difficult times.

Feeling alive is attached always to the One who gives us life. Open yourself in these next moments to be touched by life as it is meant to be.

Listen

"So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops."

Matthew 10:26-27

Think

Because I had to do it for a class assignment, I started keeping a journal last fall. At first it was really challenging trying to finish the assignment: write for 15 minutes straight, anything and everything that came to mind. The more I wrote, pushing through that initial stale, unimaginative feeling, the freer my words became. In writing this way, I started to uncover parts of me that I hadn’t bothered to pay attention to before. I have even picked up the phone and apologized after writing, realizing that I had been hurtful, dishonest, or resentful.

Writing has moved me to a more honest way of checking in with God. It has been a way for me to wander into the depths of my heart and find places that need repentance or embrace. Discovering those places in need of repentance is scary, but we have to be willing to venture there. Only when we can proclaim Jesus’ grace with our whole beings will we be able to live into the fullness of life Jesus promises us.

Lesley-Ann Hix

Pray

Gracious God, light shining on the darkness is sometimes scary. But you give the promise of full life when, in my darkness and in my light, I am all yours. Amen.

Go

Breathe. Breathe deeply and feel the spirit of life within. Know that the Giver of life is with you, making you alive by the Spirit that is still at work in all of creation.

Then walk. Walk confidently into your day, aware that the life-giving Christ is alongside you with every step.