Piloting Faith: This is the best investment you can make...

A Word for the Day...

I was lucky enough to be raised by some wonderful women (and men) who invested in shaping me into the woman I am today. My Aunt Dewey (whose birthday is today) is certainly one. We spent many hours in her kitchen, me sitting on the counter, watching her cook while we talked. She would take me to the plant nursery, and let me roam among the flowers. She would put me on the back of her bicycle in a child seat, and we would ride around her neighborhood. She taught me to work hard, plan ahead, wear my seatbelt, and always brush my teeth.

We are all profoundly shaped by the investments others make in us. They shape our dreams. They calm our fears. They provoke our imaginations. They pray for our happiness.

As we continue in the Season of Lent, consider the investments others have made in you. Consider taking a moment to thank them. Then consider how you are paying that forward. Are you investing in other people's wholeness?

If I read the Bible correctly, it seems like a key idea that keeps repeating is simply: Investing in people is a far better bet than investing in things.

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

Prayer for the Week

Yesterday I prayed for mercy, but today I need to ask all over again.

Judgment comes easily for me. Resentment sticks to me like an old habit. But compassion and forgiveness are slow to occur to me–when they occur at all.

Sometimes I forget you said, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," and "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy."

May mercy become my first impulse, for their sake, and not mine. Thank you for the mercies upon mercies you have shown meevery day.

Amen.

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