Monday, July 28, 2025

What sustains you, and carries you gently through your days? Terry Hershey

Covid has managed to come into our house…OMGoodness what time we have had! All these years we have escaped its grasp. I would not want any to have this. We did not get our vaccination this summer…what a mistake. Stay safe!

“What sustains you, and carries you gently through your days?

What heals and inspires?’

These invitations are grounded in Iain Thomas’ reminder, “Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”


And today, I have carried Maya Angelou’s words with me, “My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.”

And I can still hear Mr. Rogers’ voice, as if he were speaking directly to me through the TV screen, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

And Mr. Rogers continues, “There’s something deep inside, that helps us become what we can.”


And yes, when I do watch the “scary news”, I can feel the tears begin to flow, and wonder, “Where do we go from here? And what difference can I make?”

Gratefully, I do not wipe my tears away. Nor do I chide myself. I am grateful, knowing that my tears are my teacher, a fountain of strength, and a gift reminding me of my capacity (and yes, my arsenal) for humanity, and empathy, and compassion. A reminder that my heart, while sore (or broken or overwhelmed) is still very much alive and well.

So. What do we do when life feels scary, or upside down?  I’m smiling because even with a deflated spirit, I can still find myself feeling guilty about my puny efforts, including my prayers. (As if caring is about keeping score. Lord have mercy.)

This week, my heart needed a replenishment retreat. To let me see, and embrace, that our best response (our best “weapon” if you will) is to let our heart do what it does best: to feel and hold the pain yes, and then to love, and care for, and gift grace (even “recklessly”) to those who can’t fight for themselves.

Yes indeed. Martin Luther King’s reminder, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”

I do confess that when I’m down, I'm susceptible to an internal grilling, “Does what I do even make a difference?” And I have found that this question messes with me only when I assume that something is missing from my life. Or that I need to prove something to someone. In those moments, I’ll remember Clarissa Pinkola Estes' wisdom that "Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely."

“There's a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call, and answer in extraordinary ways.” From the film "Mother Teresa"

My friends, let us remember than many hearts are sore. People around us, people we know and love. So, thank you again, Mr. Rogers. “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

In the Holocaust Museum there is a story about an exchange in a concentration camp on the Day of Liberation (1945). The prisoners still alive in concentration camps, were being set free. A young American Lieutenant, extraordinarily moved by the bleak and foreboding nature of the setting, asked one prisoner to show him the camp. As they approached a building, the lieutenant opened a door for the young woman, and she collapsed in tears. Certain he had offended, he did his best to comfort her. After some time, she told him, “I am weeping because it is the first time in years that someone has done anything kind for me. Thank you.”

With one simple gesture of kindness, we remember that a human world of helping is still alive and well, even when the news too often, feels otherwise.

I don’t tell this story of the Holocaust Museum as some kind of motivational tool. As if there is an obligation to “be kind.” I tell it as an affirmation, and as a reminder—mostly to myself—that within each of us there is a light. And that this light—of hope and dignity, of delight and passion, of justice and grace, of beauty and wonder—still shines, regardless of whatever may conceal it.

And yes, there are times we forget. However, there are also times when a simple act of kindness, or gift of compassion, rekindles the light in our own spirit.

This gift we give to another, becomes a gift we gratefully receive.

In the story, both the giver and the receiver are liberated.

 “Sabbath Moments” excerpt


Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Ephesians 3:8-13 The dispensation of grace!

Grace is the unmerited and underserved love of God for the world that He created.


Ephesians 3:3-4 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 


The Wisdom of God given to us by Holy Spirit produces knowledge. 


2 Peter  3:15-16 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.


The risen Lord gave Paul the mystery of God’s amazing grace to all who believe in Him for salvation. A period of time was given for the dispensation of grace which offers eternal life with Christ to all who by faith believe. 


Romans 16:25-27 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. 


The birth, death and resurrection of Jesse Christ finished everything necessary for the restoration of our relationship with the Godhead…it is finished. 


Ephesians 3:5-7 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.


1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 


Led by Holy Spirit spiritual people spoke the truth of our Triune Godhead. Long before the printed page existed they kept the oracles of God in their hearts and minds for all of mankind.


Romans 8:14-17 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.


Ephesians 3:8-13 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.


In Christ we are led by the indwelling of Holy Spirit as adopted children of the most high God. We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are positioned in the Body of Christ for His glory. Grace is the unsearchable riches of Christ in us. Carla


Paul was not expressing false humility when he called himself less than the least of all the saints. He was truly humble because he previously had persecuted Christ’s church. In another place Paul refers to himself as the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Paul’s mission as an apostle was to enlighten all people about the mystery of God’s grace in Christ, which was not understood in previous times but which had become clear with the coming of Jesus Christ. God’s ways are not only “mysterious,” but also varied. Angels are also learning about God’s wisdom as they watch His grace working in us (1 Corinthians 11:10). The NKJV Study Bible


After discussing God’s cosmic work of reconciliation (2:1–22), Paul now explains his role within the mystery of the gospel.


Ephesians is one of four letters that Paul wrote from prison (along with Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). The location and time of this imprisonment are unclear. 


Paul’s calling as apostle to the Gentiles—he was one of God’s chosen agents to preach the gospel to non-Jewish people (Romans 1:5; 15:15–16; Galatians  2:9). Paul affirms that he received God’s plan of salvation directly from God (Acts 9:1–7; Galatians 1:11–12). The Greek word used here, mystērion, refers in this context to God’s plan of salvation through Christ. 


Through Christ’s death and resurrection, God has invited Gentiles (non-Jews) to join His people—expanding the scope of His salvation to include the entire world, not just Israel (Isaiah 49:6; Galatians 3:8). This stunning revelation is the heart of Paul’s gospel and missionary work.


As God’s chosen people, the Jews were heirs of the blessings promised to Abraham (Genesis 17:4–8; Romans 9:4–5). Through Christ, non-Jews also become heirs of God’s promise. 


Paul means that the fullness of God’s plan, and how it all would come together, was not known. God’s plan of salvation is through the death and resurrection of Jesus.


The rulers and the authorities refers  to spiritual enemies of God (Ephesians 1:21). These forces were kept ignorant of Christ’s role—that His death and resurrection would be the catalyst for redeeming Gentile people groups. By responding faithfully to the gospel, the people of God—Jews and Gentiles together—reveal God’s plan of salvation. The purpose of the ages relates to God’s plan of salvation.


Through Christ, believers are reconciled to God. 


Paul’s hardships have contributed to the believers’ life with Christ in the age to come—when Jesus returns and makes all things right. Faithlife Study Bible


Ephesians 3:1–4 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you…


Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!


Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.


Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 


1 Peter 1:12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into


May I walk this day

in the realm of grace,

walking with You

my feet firmly on your earth-path,

my heart loving all as kindred,

my words and deeds alive with justice.

May I walk as blessing,

meeting blessing at every turn

in every challenge, blessing,

in all opposition, blessing,

in harm’s way, blessing.

May I walk each step in this moment of grace,

alert to hear You

and awake enough to say

a simple Yes.

Robert Corin Morris

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

1 Corinthians 2:13-16 Holy Spirit resides in us to proclaim the mystery of Christ and His grace.


For a period of time Israel will be set aside until the gathering of the Gentiles is complete.  The Apostle Paul made known the mystery of God  in the Gospel of Grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 


Ephesians 3:1-7 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 


Ephesians was written  from a  Roman prison where  Paul was imprisoned   for revealing the Gospel of grace to the Gentiles. The mystery revealed to the Apostle Paul began a new period of time given until the fullness of the Gentiles would be fulfilled.


1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For  I delivered to you first of all that  which I also received: that Christ died for our sins  according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day  according to the Scriptures,


Paul was given the Gospel of Grace directly from the risen Christ. The truth of the salvation in Jesus Christ to all who would believe in Him was hidden until then. That the Gentiles could be on equal standing to the Jews was forbidden until this time. Christ died for the sins of mankind. In His shed blood our debt is paid in full. The Apostle Paul suffered greatly for preaching the Gospel of Grace directly to the masses.


1 Corinthians 2:13-14 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the  Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For  “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.


Only Holy Spirit, through faith, can give us understanding of the spiritual things of God. They cannot be understood any other way. He takes the spiritual teachings of God and gives them life in our lives. Carla


Paul emphasized that the intellectuals of this world could not teach the knowledge he was giving to the Corinthian believers. Note that the Spirit did not simply dictate words to Paul and the other apostles; He taught them. The apostles related with their own vocabulary and style what they had learned from the Spirit. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual are words difficult to translate and interpret. The Greek term translated comparing may also mean “to combine” or “to interpret.” The two references to spiritual may mean interpreting spiritual truths to spiritual persons, or else combining spiritual truths with spiritual words. The latter seems better. In other words, the phrase teaches that the spiritual truths of God are combined with the spiritual vocabulary of the apostles (2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Timothy 3:16). 


The natural person does not have the Spirit of God, in contrast to the Christian who does have the Spirit (15:44–46). Receive here means “to welcome.” This verb does not pertain to discovering the meaning of a passage, but applying the meaning to life. The NKJV Study Bible



Without God’s help through the Spirit people lack the ability to understand His plans or work. In words taught by the Spirit, Paul is likely referring to the gift of prophecy, which involves speaking on behalf of God. 


The Spirit (pneuma) is the one who truly explains and reveals the ways of God to people—believers are just messengers and instruments of the Spirit’s message. The natural man refers to a person who cannot grasp the things of God. Paul again stresses that a true understanding of spiritual things occurs only with the aid of God’s Spirit. 


Additionally, Paul might be referring to the spiritual gift of distinguishing between spirits or the gift of wisdom. The gift of distinguishing between spirits fits contextually because of Paul’s earlier comments about rulers of this age and the spirit of this world. This spiritual gift would have been vital to the success of the Corinthian church because of their tendency to elevate people with certain spiritual gifts to positions of authority and to favor the gift of tongues (chapter 13). However, Paul may be referring to the spiritual gift of wisdom, which involves distinguishing between God’s preferred plan and that of the world; this seems to fit Paul’s emphasis in this verse. In addition, Paul discusses wisdom throughout 1:17–2:16, emphasizing that believers derive their understanding from God, not commonly held beliefs. Whichever spiritual gift Paul refers to here, his point is that God grants believers what they need; these gifts don’t come any other way. This gifting empowers them to follow Christ without having to worry about the judgment of others. Those who belong to the Spirit do not need to subject themselves to human condemnation or approval; they recognize that God is their only judge (4:3). Paul says this to combat the Corinthians’ suggestion that he should somehow justify who he is or his actions; his authority comes from Christ and the Spirit’s work in his life. 


Paul draws from Isaiah 40:13 to emphasize the gift of the Spirit. Since Christ has no need of an advisor, this quotation suggests that God’s wisdom is incomprehensible—yet He has enabled believers to understand the wisdom of His salvation through the crucified Messiah, Jesus. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God provides believers with the understanding they need). The Mind of Christ probably refers to God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to His people. The presence of the Spirit grants believers the ability to discern God’s will and works within them to make them more like Christ. Like Christ, believers can understand the difference between right and wrong and are empowered to seek God’s will over and against sin and their own natural desires and inclinations. Faithlife Study Bible


1 Corinthians 1:17–18 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 


John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 


1 Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 


1 Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 


1 Corinthians 15:44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.


…I raise a glass and say thank you to the men and women who make human helping choices. Often, at what feels like a cost.

Men and women who plant small seeds of compassion and justice, and kindness and restitution, and mercy and grace and healing in our world. Sabbath Moments

Monday, July 21, 2025

Romans 11:25-29 United in Christ we stand

God dealt and continues to deal with Israel on two levels. Nationally and individually. When the majority of them rejected the truth of Jesus they were set aside. They could not accept the truth that God’s way was better than their own. Now, for the most part, they are blinded for a period until the time of the Gentiles is finished.

Romans 11:7-12 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8 Just as it is written: 

“God has given them a spirit of stupor, 

Eyes that they should not see 

And ears that they should not hear, 

To this very day.” 

9 And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them. 10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back always.” 


Israel’s Rejection Not Final 


11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!


Romans 11:25-29 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 

26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, 

And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 

27 For this is My covenant with them, 

When I take away their sins.” 28


Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.


In God’s timing the eyes of the Israelites will be opened. Israel will accept Jesus their Messiah King.


Acts 15: 6-11 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”


Acts 15:-17 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all 


The Jerusalem Council established that in Christ the Gentiles could be saved by the grace of God. 


In Christ there there is neither Jew nor Gentiles, slave nor free, male nor female, we are united in the grace of God in the sacrifice of Jesus. We stand in the suspension of time that brought in the promises to Abraham that he would be a blessing to all nation.


Amos 9:13-15 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it. 14 I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. 15 I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,” Says the Lord your God. 


The promises of God will always come to pass. The remnant of His chosen people will reap them when they accept Jesus as their King. 


Romans 11:25-29  For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” 28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.


Peter recalled his vision of the sheet and that all could be gathered. He was not to call anyone unclean for all could be saved in the blood of the Lamb. For God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to die for us, not to condemn the world, but that in Him the world could be saved (John 3:16-17) Carla


If believers do not understand this mystery, chances are they will be wise in their own opinion, meaning they will be haughty (verse 20) and boast (verse 18). The mystery is that Israel has been temporarily and partially hardened, but God has not rejected them. All Israel does not mean that every individual in the nation will turn to the Lord. It means that the nation as a whole will be saved, just as the nation as a whole (but not every individual in it) was now rejecting the Lord. The Jews are enemies in that they reject the gospel. For the sake of the fathers refers to the promises God made to the patriarchs. Irrevocable means “not to repent.” God does not change His mind. He made promises to the patriarchs (verse 28) and He will fulfill them. The NKJV Study Bible


In this context mystery probably refers to three difficult issues that Paul discusses in the passage: Israel’s partial hardening, the inclusion of the Gentiles as part of God’s people, and Israel’s future role in God’s plan of salvation. Paul hopes that the Gentile Christians will not become proud or boastful of their inclusion into the people of God. Full number of the Gentiles alludes to predictions that one day all nations will worship Yahweh (Isaiah 2:2–4; Zechariah14:16–17; Matthew 28:19–20). All Israel also could refer to the completion of the mission to reach all people with the gospel. Paul viewed his ministry to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) as integral to the fulfillment of this plan (Romans 15:24, 28). The deliverer will come may refer to the nation of Israel proper—whether all of Abraham’s natural descendants, or only the elect individuals within ethnic Israel. Alternatively, it could refer to Israel as symbolic of God’s elect—all who are now part of God’s people (both Jews and Gentiles). Paul’s meaning here is widely disputed. Any interpretation has far-reaching implications for the Jews and their place in God’s future plans. “All Israel” may include all who had faith like Abraham prior to Jesus’ coming, or Paul could be looking ahead to a future conversion when the entire nation of Israel accepts Jesus as Messiah. “All Israel” also could be understood as a symbolic group (of Jews and Gentiles), since Paul envisions all of God’s elect as part of a single tree (verse 17). 


A quotation from Isaiah 59:20 while this passage originally refers to Yahweh, Paul seems to apply it to Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Zion refers to Jerusalem. Here, it might point to the heavenly Jerusalem from where Christ will return as deliverer (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Faithlife Study Bible


Isaiah 59:20–21 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”Says the LORD.“As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”


Isaiah 27:9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered;And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin:When he makes all the stones of the altarLike chalkstones that are beaten to dust,Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.


Deuteronomy 7:8 but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.


Deuteronomy 10:15 The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. 


Jeremiah 31:31–34 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD…


Speaking words of courage in frightening times with her column “My Day,” Eleanor Roosevelt spilled light. And she admitted that her indefatigable service for us to be our better selves was an antidote to loneliness, anxiety and the periods of depression she called “Griselda moods.” (Smiling, knowing that I’ll be borrowing that expression.)

So yes. Wholeheartedness flows even from the broken places, from places where we may feel fragmented and vulnerable.

True, my mood often tells me otherwise. My mood tells me to guard my heart.

But what I’m learning is that the easiest way to take care of your heart, is to give it away. Today I am glad for any reminder that “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” (Irish Proverb).

Today, in a world where cruelty is unmistakable, I am glad for any reminder of the capacity to be fully human, tender, vulnerable and kindhearted.

Today, I am glad for any reminder that the human world of helping is larger than our fear or anxiety or our ego. Excerpt from “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey.


“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” Marcus Aurelius