Surpising Rays of Hope

There are those days that come and that you wish would just go. Sunday was one of those days. It was like skiing out of bounds. It started off well, the heart pounding while creating fresh tracks on virgin snow, and then some of the displaced powder began to slide down the mountain side in cataclysmic, avalanche type proportions. To be honest, it ha been a fulltime job just to keep my mind on task since then. I feel like I am working on minimal sleep and a caffeine drip.

Yet, there was an unexpected and surprising ray of hope that shined through the midst of the darkness of that day. After a difficult, transparent, and emotional conversation as Sunday night's service, Natalie and I turned around to chat with an older couple in our church family. I have to confess that they were really some of the last people that I wanted to talk to at the time. I just did not have the energy that I was certain I would need to open my life and heart to them in ministry.

By the grace of God, the next fifteen or so minutes turned into the shining ray of light that has helped illuminate the darkness of the last forty-eight hours. The conversation was itself a resurrection experience, because I could see how simply sharing the love and fellowship of Christ can change people. They spoke of hope, of love. They spoke of finding unity in the diversity of the family of God. They even encouraged me in my writing.

It gave me a new hope that the new creation of God is breaking into the church and into our world. It gave me a renewed sense of courage and humility in my ministry. It gave me the conviction that maybe God IS doing something through my feeble attempts to touch the lives and hearts of the Body of Christ here.

My pray now is from the "Litany to the Holy Spirit" in from the Archdiocese of Detroit in their Prayers for the Successor of St. Peter:

"Holy Spirit, inspire us with horror of sin.
Holy Spirit, come and renew the fact of thee earth.
Holy Spirit, shed Thy light in our souls.
Holy Spirit, engrave Thy law in our hearts.
Holy Spirit, inflame us with the flame of Thy love.
Holy Spirit, open to us the treasures of Thy graces.
Holy Spirit, teach us to pray well.
Holy Spirit, enlighten us with Thy heavenly inspiration.
Holy Spirit, lead us in the way of salvation.
Holy Spirit, grant us the only necessary knowledge.
Holy Spirit, inspire in us the practice of good.
Holy Spirit, grant us the merits of all virtues.
Holy Spirit, make us persevere in justice.
Holy Spirit, be Thou our everlasting reward.
Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of Thy faithful,
And enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Grant, O Merciful Father, that Thy Divine Spirit may enlighten, inflame and purify us, that He may penetrate us with His heavenly dew and make us fruitful in good works, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.”