Dear Friends of Longview Chapel,
Have you ever woken up and you were just plain weary? It felt like rising up out of bed was more of a challenge than it had been before. Maybe you had just done too much yard work or lifting. Maybe you had not slept well. Or perhaps you were grieving or frustrated with events beyond your control. If your weariness was not a one-time response to something manageable, you most likely felt weary for way more than a day. In periods of great loss or transition, that feeling may go on for weeks, even months or years.
All of us have times when life is a struggle, some much harder than others. And at times, all of us need to be able to pull on a Source greater than ourselves. When we are in need, God knows our need. And God does reach out to us. God also yearns for us to welcome God into our most vulnerable places in our hearts and lives.
Imagine that your soul is not unlike your cell phone. It needs to be recharged and renewed. Perhaps even rebooted now and then. We can do this in prayer, in worship, in reading scripture, and in imagining God filling us up, one bit at a time. Sometimes we literally just need to breathe in God’s Spirit over and over again until we are raised up.
A beautiful passage that I was given in a picture by the Odessa church when I left as their co-pastor has blessed me in more than one challenging time in my life. It is one I have memorized and sometimes recite to remind myself that my energy is not the only energy I have to rely on. God is there, AND the people of the body of Christ are also there to help me rise up.
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV
May we receive the strength to soar like eagles AND help others to soar too.
See you Sunday!
Pastor Donna