God Meets us in our Struggles

God met us in the ER yesterday, weary and worn, amidst a flurry of nurses and doctors, and reminded us: I am here, even when it feels most isolating. As my Mom settled under the weight of hospital blankets, we prayed for healing, and invited God’s presence to the fill the room, transforming uncertainty into unshakable faith.

Our family has moved through cycles of challenges for the past several years. There are days I wake up, beating back exhaustion and wading through tears. Often I find myself praying not day by day, but moment to moment, through the discomfort, into spaces of despair and loneliness.

Most people would not place struggle and blessing in the same sentence, but I now see our most painful experiences as a pathway to grow beyond ourselves and into deeper relationship with God. There’s a song lyric (by the group Big Daddy Weave) which has never left me, it’s become a guiding light of sorts:"If I told you my story, you would hear hope that didn't let go..."

Slowly, friends, we can learn to transcend the physical and embrace our spiritual eyesight. This is where our faith expands, not during moments of comfort but disruption, just as grief and longing seem to swallow us whole.

As Mom spends the next several days at home recovering, I am reminded of a verse which has become a faith mantra: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Prayer:

Oh God of Love,

Even in the most difficult times, you stand alongside us. When feelings of hurt and overwhelm greet us, comfort our hearts, remind us that speaking our anguish and pain is not a lack of faith, but an act of courage.We trust you enough to open up our hearts. Remind us that no matter what we face, your word says you remain with us always (Matthew 28:20).

You may show up through the healing rhythm of music, a phone call from a dear friend, or in the solace of nature. Awaken us to your presence, and help us to be a blessing to others who are also hurting.

In Your Holy Name, Lord,
we pray, Amen.

Two Ways to Activate Your Faith: 

1. Put up encouraging and healing scripture verses all around your home and office. Read them aloud daily, several times a day. Commit them to memory.

2. Listen to praise music with meaningful statements about victory and enduring struggle. I particularly enjoy selections from prolific artists such as Big Dadddy Weave, Mali Music, Lauren Daigle, and Plumb. 

God Welcomes Immigrants

We  are living in an era of exclusion - not just in the U.S., but around the world. Hatred and indifference are endlessly justified along many grounds, including faith; remaining oblivious to the lived experiences of others, especially those on the margins, is seen not as a vice, but a virtue to emulate.

And yet our worship  and embrace of separation is in direct opposition to God's call towards building beloved community.  We cannot share our faith with others if we refuse to even begin with the first step - holding space for conversation. Jesus went to the forgotten and ostracized - engaging with them, instead of talking at them.

All week, I've thought about about the significance of one chapter in the New Testament which is a guiding light for all of us who choose to pray with our feet - Matthew 25, verses 35-40. Each sentence shared to awaken us to the face of Christ in all we meet, especially the most marginalized.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

This season on our Pray with our Feet podcast we have focused on Matthew 25:40 ("...whatever you have done for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."). But there's another part of this passage which is particularly relevant as we celebrate immigrant heritage month: "I was a stranger and you invited me in..."

Read the sentence again, and this time notice a key step for us as followers of Christ - "... you invited me in..."

As the daughter of an immigrant (my Dad) who came to the U.S. from Central America, these are not simply words, but a profound reminder: God cares deeply about people fleeing their home countries due to violence and instability whether they are from Haiti, Afghanistan, Central America, Nigeria, Jamaica or the Ukraine.

But what about us as the body of Christ? Do we care only when those fleeing look, act, worship, love and behave like us?

This is not the love of Christ dwelling within, but the divisions of this world.

May we each remember: "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." 1 John 4:20

Support the work of orgs. on the ground:

We Choose Welcome
https://www.instagram.com/wechoosewelcome/?hl=en

Families Belong Together
https://www.familiesbelongtogether.org

Haitian Bridge Alliance
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce4NEOlJzm3/?hl=en

Each Step Home
https://www.eachstephome.org

My Dad, Rudy, who immigrated to the U.S. from Central America, Mom and Me.

Seeing Miracles Everyday

God speaks to me through music, nature and people most. How about you?

Well, the other day, a friend insisted I listen to this song, Endless Alleluia by musician Cory Asbury. I guess I could spare a moment, I thought, mentally mapping out the next hour of stuff to do.

I gave Nai her little book, and hit play. Surprisingly it was one of those lyric videos – spare, raw, all voice and poetic words. Each syllable broke through the mundaneness of a Tuesday afternoon, baptizing my spirit in surrender to the omnipresent power of God. As the tears slowly spiraled down my cheeks, I settled into these lines because I live them:

In the moments where you go unnoticed in the ordinary day to day

Countless miracles of life around us point like arrows to your name…”

When you believe for a miracle and breakthrough for your family, you learn to notice what others carelessly discard as ordinary. You see God etched into the fabric of your existence, mending brokenness, building bridges as you traverse difficulties. Your struggles become wings, propelling you with unrelenting faith:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:7

I believe God reveals bible verses when we are ready to receive them. I heard snatches of James 1:7 but when I began to read Chris Gore and Angela Locke’s most recent book, The Perfect Gift: Seeing the Child, Not the Condition, about believing God for healing for your child while seeing their beauty and uniqueness, it took on a more profound meaning.

God creates beauty, it’s us who ruin it’s many manifestations due to ego, short sightedness, and a stubborn refusal to see with our hearts. Let us pray for a revelation of the miraculous in ordinary moments, and God will begin using even the smallest signs to cultivate steady belief in our spirits.

How can you be more intentional about opening your eyes to miracles?

Prayer: Dear God – When I feel discouraged, overwhelmed or buried in the mundane tasks of life, open my eyes to the miracles around me. Help me celebrate musicality in a child’s laugh, the warmth of connecting with a family member, friend or person I am meeting for the first time. Remind me not to overlook expansive skies, balmy winds, awakening to sunrises and closing the days gazing upon auburn colored sunsets. In your precious name I pray, Amen.