Listen

Again the Lord called Samuel, so Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?”

“I didn’t call, my son,” Eli replied. “Go and lie down.”

(Now Samuel didn’t yet know the Lord, and the Lord’s word hadn’t yet been revealed to him.)

1 Samuel 3:6-7

Think

In college, my favorite job was working as a resident assistant in a dorm full of creative and caring classmates. I loved that I got paid for being welcoming and encouraging! One of my least favorite responsibilities though was that I also had to let in residents who’d locked themselves out of their rooms — whatever time of the day or night it might be! Each time there was a lockout at night, I never quite got back to sleeping in the same way as I’d been before.

Samuel has been woken up again by a voice. Again, Eli says it’s not him, and that Samuel should simply go and lie down. I wonder what Samuel’s sleep was like that evening. Was his slumber peaceful or unsettled?

Warning! Spoiler alert!

It’s not Eli that’s calling Samuel again and again. It’s God.

I wonder how God is calling us to metaphorically wake up in our daily lives and to live in a different way than we have been before. Does that idea of God’s stirring bring us peace or unsettledness?

Molly Logan

Pray

Gracious and loving God, I’m still here. Help me to feel and hear how you are trying to wake me up in this new year, even if I might feel unsure yet of how to exactly answer your call to live in grace. Amen.

Go

I said, “I’m here; send me.”

Isaiah 6:8b

May we go into our days celebrating that God knows us, loves us, and calls us to share that grace and care with all whom we encounter today.