Ordinary Time 
Pause
There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.
But sometimes it doesn’t.
Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.
Veronica Roth in Allegiant (2013)
Listen
Then he brought Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars if you think you can count them.” He continued, “This is how many children you will have.” Abram trusted the Lord, and the Lord recognized Abram’s high moral character.
Genesis 15:5-6
Think
It’s amazing how easy it is to get caught up in the drama of life, all of us wanting things we don’t have, having things we don’t want. Without even thinking about it, most of us assume the answer to our problem(s) is somewhere in the future, because in the future everything will resolve, which is to say we’ll eventually get what we want, in this life or the next.
But I wonder how much better our lives would be if we followed Abram’s lead, and stood underneath the stars. Sure, the stars are meant to symbolize a future promise, that God will establish God’s people through Abram; however, the simple act of looking toward heaven is also a humbling reminder that each of us is a part of something much bigger than ourselves.
With so many distractions fighting for our attention, it takes a lot of bravery to be present, here and now, fully and completely. It’s much easier to want for something other than this, but God is always inviting us to look up and be grateful. Whatever the future holds, we will only get there by way of the present.
Chris Robertson
Pray
Here I am, O Lord. Help me to be present and accept that this is enough, this moment, this breath. Everything I am, everything I have, is a gift from you. So thank you. Amen.
Go
In Scripture we are told that God is at work in the world.
And that God’s work is also our work.
May we then go into the world and be brave,
ever ready to give of ourselves,
ever trusting in the goodness of God.
