JANUARY 2021
Give us this day, our daily bread…
That is a very radical prayer to pray just now, what with a year that is radically different from the one we anticipated or would have chosen. Pandemic, wildfires, racial injustice, economic meltdown, death, illness, isolation.
The prayer I am inclined to pray goes much more like this; “give me so much more than I have and make sure it is enough to cover my needs farther into the future than I can imagine. Plus one more day! Please.. Amen.”
Mine seems like a reasonable prayer to pray. Maybe even a good prayer, because when I am stocked up and taken care of into the future, I won’t be worried about anything and can devote all my attention to you, God. A sort of, God-remove-challenges-so-that-I-can-love-you prayer.
That is not the way that Jesus told us to pray. Smarty-pants Jesus does not fall for my logic about this one. He holds me to a prayer that squarely lays my trust and reliance on God AND calls me to renew that trust and reliance every single day. A sort of Wendy-trust-me-so-you-can-know-my-love prayer.
He knew my soul would squirm and fight against this kind of life. He knew that for me to “get it” I would need to go back to it every single day. (Sometimes I look behind the couch to see if he’s there – he knows me so well!)
Give us this day, our daily bread…
Give us this day – just today.
Our daily bread – just enough.
There are deep and powerful graces in these requests. They shape my soul, for trust every day draws me closer to the mind and will of Jesus. To honestly and earnestly pray these words steers my mind toward rejoicing over what I am given instead of demanding what I think I am owed.
We don’t know what 2021 will bring, which seems the perfect time to fall in love with this prayer. I have committed to pray this line more deeply in the year ahead. Will you join me?
Give us this day, our daily bread…
Blessings, Wendy
BOOK CLUB
This months book is The Searchers” by Tana French.
Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.
“One of the greatest crime novelists writing today” (Vox) weaves a masterful, atmospheric tale of suspense, asking how to tell right from wrong in a world where neither is simple, and what we stake on that decision. (Amazon Review)
JANUARY BIRTHDAYS
Otis Winchester – 1/11 Susan Bosnjak – 1/27
Carol Morgan – 1/22 Zander Hryczky – 1/29
Jill Mader – 1/25 Mary Dolbey – 1/29
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
There will be a congregational meeting on January 31, 2021 for the presentation of the annual report to the congregation. More information on the meeting will be included in HAPPENINGS as the date gets closer.
