Today’s scripture: Psalm 131 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Angie Eden):
When I walked into the classroom, the smell of store-bought soil met me first. Then I spied a stack of Styrofoam cups and scattered seeds on a paper plate. Thirty minutes later, three preschool teachers wiped a kidney-shaped table clean while seven little faces stared at the cups now full of pure wonder. “Is it growing yet?” “When will the flower be up?” “Mine needs more water, it’s not doing anything.”
Over the next several weeks, the teachers I work with will endure daily questions from four year-olds with no concept of time. As patiently as their little hearts and minds can be, the students will wait and wait for their Mother’s Day gift to fully blossom and be the beautiful flower they were promised. But oh, the waiting. That’s the hardest part.
Today’s scripture, according to The Message, has a heading, “A Pilgrim Song” which implies that what will follow is the heart’s cry of someone setting out on a journey. The writer sings aloud then, all that he has done to prepare himself: humbled his heart, took a reality check, and breathed contentment into his soul. The song ends with a call to maintain hope along the journey, amid the waiting.
If you are in that time of waiting, of watching the Styrofoam cup, know that you are exactly where God wants you to be. Like the Psalmist and the preschooler, keep hope and keep watch because some day, appointed by God, the wait will be worth it.
Thought for the day: For today, give God thanks for seeds, for dreams, and for ministries planted inside you. Let hope be your companion while you wait for them to bloom.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.