“Do not be afraid I am with you. I have you called you each by name. Come and follow me, I will bring you home. I love you and you are mine.” ELW #581
This fall seems to be all about limitations. People and situations I cannot control, mental and physical diseases I could not make better. Regrets, self-doubt and a whole lotta grief. It’s the way life works and I really don’t like it. We are truly like flowers of the field, here today and gone tomorrow.
I have felt so frustrated over my lack of control. I don’t want anyone, including myself, to be in pain. But the results of trying to make things better are anger, frustration and exhaustion. My attempts are not working, and I know this is not what God wants for me.
And yet, mysteriously, there is a relief in the acknowledging my powerlessness. I can’t control the things going on around me. I can’t make them better.
But God can.
If I can acknowledge my anger and my powerlessness and if I make a real attempt to let go and let God, there is relief.
By the grace of God, during this trying month, words of comfort from hymns, the Lutheran services, and Scripture come to mind…
“Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting. Amen.” (Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship, occasional services.)
These words are a reminder from God that you, also, are not alone in the midst of your difficulties. Help is available. Help may come directly from God through peace, relief, noticing the good around you, or it may come through others…friendship, kindness, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on. God is constantly offering us the help we so desperately need. It starts by acknowledging that we can’t do this on our own.
So take the break. Ask for help. Surrender the problem. Know your prayers are heard. You are not alone.
If this is a trying season for you as well, let me, Pastor David, or someone else you trust know. We are not too busy for you. You are a beloved child of God and you’re worth it.
If words of hymns, the liturgy, Scripture come to mind, let me know. I will be encouraged by these words as well. After all, we are all companions on this road. May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your minds and hearts in Christ Jesus.
Pastor Karla
“Be not afraid. I go before you always. Come, follow me, and I will give you rest” ELW #388