Listen

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a Jewish leader. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could do these miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered, “I assure you, unless someone is born anew, it’s not possible to see God’s kingdom.”

Nicodemus asked, “How is it possible for an adult to be born? It’s impossible to enter the mother’s womb for a second time and be born, isn’t it?”

John 3:1-4

Think

When my son was four, beginning full-day school and experiencing life as a “big kid,” he would oftentimes look at me and say, “I wish I could crawl back into your belly, Mama.” I knew exactly what he meant. Life isn’t always easy on the outside.

You’ve probably felt like that too on a hard day. It’s that desire to curl up in a blanket until our problems, confusion, anger, insecurity, or our fears have passed.

As much as I would have liked to have a kangaroo’s pouch and swoop my little guy back into the warmth and security of that space, the most I could do was open my arms and say to him, “I’m always here. My lap is ready and waiting.”

This is how I picture God, too – a really large, warm, safe lap. A lap I can crawl back in whenever I need to be reminded that I’m not alone; a lap where I am reminded of who and whose I am.

A child of God. Always.

Sarah McCaslin

Pray

Abide with me, O God, when evening comes. When darkness deepens; God, abide with me. When help fails and comfort flees, O God, abide with me.

Adapted from “Abide with Me” by Henry Francis Lyte (1861)

Go

God’s one-of-a-kind job description is that God actually uses our problems to lead us to the full solution. God is the perfect Recycler, and in the economy of grace, nothing is wasted, not even our worst sins and our most stupid mistakes.

Richard Rohr in A Lever and a Place to Stand (2012)