Waiting

May 18, 2013

Today’s Reflection

WAITING HAS YET another rhythm. This is the rhythm of the duration of the process, a journey which has a beginning, middle, and end. In each of our lives, God is gestated and born over and over again. And each time there is a birthing, there has been a journeying process, an inner pilgrimage with a map all its own. … Not only is the waiting different at the start of a journey than at the end, but the identity of the pilgrim – the way we view ourselves and what we are about – changes along with the shifting landscapes. …

The waiting can be very hard. In part, this is because the waiting is for<.em> something, not simply an end in itself. What is hidden wants to come to light. What is gestating wants to be born. And we press forward in anticipation, longing to know, to touch, to hold, to see, to name.

In the classic spirituality of Ignatius Loyola, this longing – the desire of the human heart – is seen as both a prerequisite for and the central dynamic of the life in God. In Ignatius’s view it is our deepest desires that point us toward the ultimate object of our longings – toward God and the fulfillment of our hearts.

- Weavings, Vol. II, no. 1 (Jan/February 1987)

From Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, January/February 1987. Copyright © 1987 The Upper Room, pages 20-22. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

What part does waiting play in your spiritual growth? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.
John 14:16, NRSV

This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

Did You Know?

Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

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Lord, Make Us Like the Wind

May 17, 2013

Today’s Reflection

MAKE US LIKE THE WIND – ever-moving and ever moving others. And with joy we will dance with the leaves. In submission we will linger in the shade, cooling the skin of those scorched by the sun’s heat. In awe we will pause and be still enough to hover over creation, admiring your world and waiting for your command. And when you move us, we will fly with more strength, reminding people that you are present even in times when you may seem invisible. Breathe into our souls, Lord, and make us like the wind, like your Holy Spirit – in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
–Ciona D. Rouse”

- Edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua
Africana Worship Book, Year A

From page 31 of The Africana Worship Book: Year A, edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2006 by Discipleship Resources. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Pray today’s prayer. Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.”
Acts 2:14, NRSV

This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

Did You Know?

Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Share

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Love God and Neighbor

May 16, 2013

Today’s Reflection JESUS COMMANDS US to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. I understand now the best way to do that is by listening. When we stop talking, arguing, and judging, we begin to hear. We hear God’s voice of love for us, and can only respond in love. It has become clear [...]

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A Blessing

May 15, 2013

Today’s Reflection MAY YOU SEE the glory of God in sun and sky;may you hear the Creator’s song in bird and breeze;and may the grace of Christ’s Spirit course through you,body and soul.—Sam Hamilton-Poore, Earth Gospel – Sam Hamilton-Poore Earth Gospel From page 33 of Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God’s Creation by [...]

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The Spiritual Life

May 14, 2013

Today’s Reflection JESUS’ LIFE didn’t go well. He didn’t reach his earning potential. He didn’t have the respect of his colleagues. His friends weren’t loyal. His life wasn’t long. He didn’t meet his soul mate. And he wasn’t understood by his mother. Yet I think I deserve all those things because I am spiritual.—Hugh Prather, [...]

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The Shepherd’s Voice

May 13, 2013

Today’s Reflection IMAGINE A WATERING HOLE in a primitive place where nomadic shepherds gather to water their flocks. The shepherds come from the hillsides with their sheep, and the flocks mingle together. From our vantage point it is impossible to tell one from another. The shepherds enjoy this rare moment of fellowship, telling stories, sharing [...]

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To Face the New Day

May 12, 2013

Today’s Reflection HAVING LIVED WITH HIV for nearly two decades, I have had my share of struggles: a bout with pneumonia, loss of weight and muscle mass, extreme fatigue, depression, and losing nearly 3,000 of my friends to HIV/AIDS. On my good days, I greet the morning with a smile, give thanks to God for [...]

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My Opportunity

May 11, 2013

Today’s Reflection “YOU DON’T KNOW ME, CHELSEY,” my friend said with tears running down her face. In the school library, she opened up to me and told me that her stepfather was being mean to her. I knew that something bad had been happening in her home life, something that had broken her heart; but [...]

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Surrender

May 10, 2013

Today’s Reflection SURRENDER BEGINS with a deliberate and definite decision to hand our will and life over to God. It continues as a daily process during which we seek (and sometimes struggle) to find and do God’s will. Rather than turning us into passive spectators of life, surrender empowers us to live more responsibly and [...]

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Plant Me in Righteousness

May 9, 2013

Today’s Reflection O GOD, I SURRENDER TO YOU THE HABITS and sins that, like frost, chill my soul and cause your life-giving energy to cease its flow in me. Uproot me from the weed patches of evil wherein I have chosen to sink my roots. Plant me instead in your field of righteousness. – Norman [...]

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