Reflection: You have revealed [mysteries] to the childlike...Come to me...I will give you rest.
Meditation: How many of us are looking for rest and relief from the burdens of family, work, our or another's illness, grieving, politics, social ills, injustice, oppression, suffering or watching suffering...? We don't have the freedom to choose what befalls us, the people we love or the communities we live in. We have the freedom to choose how we respond.
I choose to look at God and the world like a child looks at the fireworks of freedom on July 4th. I live in awe and wonder at the mysteries of suffering, persecution and injustices. In choosing to be childlike in wonder and expectation, God reveals the meanings. Sometimes I understand; often, I rest in the mysteries of faith, hope and love.
Inspiration: The list of people who are inspiring right now is long. Here are a few: loved ones who are fighting the good fight of suffering in faith with ailments upon ailments; adults who are new to the journey of Christian faith and are seeking to know God more deeply through Scripture and fellowship; volunteers who keep showing up to walk together in the stories of hope found in service; donors who give generously in faith and love without question; people relegated to the margins who show up to receive what they need, week after week, without knowing that they are a living sign of God and inspiration.
Action: Seek rest and revelation about the mysteries of life, like a child, in the arms and loving gaze of Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, help us to embrace the joy of being childlike with you. Thank you, for revealing life's mysteries and giving rest to the people for whom we so fervently pray.
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