PS. I will be back. I promise. I miss you all. I miss this place where I wrestle with my thoughts and fears. I had NO idea that a full time job, full time seminary studies, a full time family life, and a full time personal life would take up so much of my time. Who knew it was so hard and so complicated and so demanding? (Apparently everyone else who has ever done this!)
Hard Days … But God
October 31, 2018 in Uncategorized
Dear Caldwell,
Gail here. It’s Halloween today. This day is a tough one for me – because I have a serious sweet tooth. When my husband buys candy for trick or treaters, I always hope he gets candy that I don’t like. That way, I will be less likely to binge on it during the early days of November. Sweets are a weakness of mine.
This year, today, I don’t have an appetite for as much candy as usual. In fact, it’s hard to find an appetite for much at all these days. There is a lot going on in our country, and in our city as well, that is dampening the collective spirit of our nation. Rampant violence. Political instability. Unjust leadership. An increase in threats and acts of violence related directly to race and religion. Attacks on the media.
There is reason to be sad, reason to be afraid, and reason to be insecure. We want to stay home and hide, but even there, we get caught up with social media feeds and the 24-hour news cycle. We want to spend time with friends and family, but we feel anxiety about engaging in difficult conversations or, worse, encountering people who are intent on doing us harm.
But God. But God. But God.
But God is with us as we stand with those who are sorrowing and afraid.
God is with us in our own sorrow and fear.
God is with us in our own sorrow and fear.
But God is with us as we stand with the poor and downtrodden.
God is with us in our own poverty – be it financial or spiritual – and oppression.
God is with us in our own poverty – be it financial or spiritual – and oppression.
But God is with us as we pray for others and pray for justice.
God is with us as we pray for ourselves and for the resolution of the injustices that we face as well.
God is with us as we pray for ourselves and for the resolution of the injustices that we face as well.
But God is with us as we gather together in worship.
God is with us when we engage in the spiritual practices that remind us of God’s presence even when we are not together – as we pray, read Scripture, journal, meditate, listen to music, bask in the beauty of nature, or simply sit alone in silence and listen for God’s voice. God is with us. That truth can give us great peace and renew our hope.
God is with us when we engage in the spiritual practices that remind us of God’s presence even when we are not together – as we pray, read Scripture, journal, meditate, listen to music, bask in the beauty of nature, or simply sit alone in silence and listen for God’s voice. God is with us. That truth can give us great peace and renew our hope.
As I sit here at my desk, thinking of you, my Caldwell family, as I think of the children who will undoubtedly ring our doorbell tonight, seeking treats, as I ponder the bitterness that is rampant in the world at the moment, I am driven back to the Word of God, the book that guides my life. I turn to some of my favorite Psalms, and I pray them to the God who is our Refuge and Strength.
I pray that these words, these prayers, will bring peace to you as they have for me. I pray that they will restore hope and sweetness where despair and bitterness may have begun to take root within your heart.
More than Skittles, more than Snicker bars, more than Reese’s peanut butter cups, even more than red Australian licorice (which is my personal favorite!), may you be filled with the sweetness of the Spirit of God, calming your fears, healing your hurts, and restoring the joy of your salvation – today, tomorrow, and always.
Grace and peace, Gail
