Piloting Faith: What resilient people seem to know...

A Word for the Day...

Each of us has lived through moments of heartbreak. Perhaps you lost a child or a partner. Maybe you were fired from a job. Perhaps your home burned and you lost possessions that you valued. Possibly a friend betrayed you, or you experienced divorce. You might have had the experience of being denied a job because of the color of your skin or the person you loved. Maybe you have been unjustly persecuted.

We all share the pain of heartbreak. It's part of what unites us as spiritual beings having a human experience.

It's interesting what we choose to do in response. Does the experience shape us, or do we shape it? Resilient people face heartbreak with relentless hope in a better future. None of us want to suffer or experience pain. But some of us know that it's in the crucifying experiences of life that resurrection comes.

If you are facing tough days, know you are not alone. If you're not, give thanks and love on those in your life who are (with appropriate boundaries please!). We are all in this together.

- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight

Prayer for the Week

Sacred One,

You sometimes feel so far away. We see death and disaster in the news, and everywhere, people are arguing, always arguing. And yet Jesus said that your domain - the only true and enduring reality - is also among us.

May your presence become real to us in the midst of our despair.

Even in my own heart, I hold grudges, nurse anxieties, withhold compassion, and put myself first. Too often, my heart is not a hospitable place for your Spirit. I resist your presence there, too.

May your presence become real to us in the midst of our despair.

Empower your people to see where your way of life is already showing up. Help us to become passionate agents in this continuing unfolding of your will for all things.

Amen.

(adapted from The Prayer Wheel by Patton Dodd, Jana Riess, and David Van Biema)