Pause+Pray

When headlines of injustice weigh us down, where do we turn? This week,  I had a conversation with a dear friend about the state of the world, and we ended up agreeing about the power of the Serenity Prayer:

Long distances can lead to ignorance of civil unrest, hunger, natural disasters. Though far away, all the globe's peoples are brothers and sisters to us.

How often do you find that after several minutes of trying to pray, your mind has wandered to topics other than God? Do you grow angry with yourself and give up, or do you push on in those moments?

In our opulent era, many of us have become accustomed to acquiring more money, more prestige, more power, more material comforts. Poverty, in its figurative and literal sense, is societally scorned.

Shaun Niequist in her book Bittersweet wrote: “When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.” Sometimes the healing we need comes through growth that challenges us.

Sometimes we're discouraged by our lack of faith. We think we're doing something wrong or there is something wrong with us.