Devotion: Home & Shalom
Please read the scriptures from the weekend: Luke 15:11-32
I am continually amazed and blessed to experience worship at Sheridan through our worship team. Week by week, we are immersed in new meanings of our faith and our relationship with God. This Sunday’s message was no exception and offered many new insights. Pastor Sarah brought a fresh perspective to the story of the Prodigal Son, a Bible story I’ve known since childhood. I had previously viewed it as the story of a spoiled young person who didn’t appreciate what they had until it was gone (reminiscent of the 70’s song by Joni Mitchell, for those of us who remember it). But the story is so much richer than that. We learned about the transformative impact of the partnership of Lutheran Disaster Response and Mennonite Disaster Response teams in North Carolina. If you missed Sunday worship, I encourage you to go back and watch it online. The work of that team, literally building bridges in that small community, was a profound blessing.
Pastor Sarah spoke about the gap between our expectations for life and the reality of our experiences, and what we learn from those experiences. Often, we try to judge life’s situations and find our own solutions before bringing them to our Heavenly Father. We attempt to fill these gaps with our own ideas of how life “should be.” I feel this is a common struggle in our world today. We often believe we have all the answers to “fix” things. But have we truly invited God into our thinking, or do we first turn to Him? I, for one, tend to fret and worry when I know that God can handle everything and continues to love us unconditionally, without those self-imposed gaps, with the joy of a loving parent.
As we begin this Lenten season, I am often overwhelmed by the anxieties of the world and the recurring realization that I have “misplaced” the simple truth that God is waiting for me to come to Him, to find refuge in His arms and rest in the knowledge that “He’s got this.” I pray that we all develop new spiritual disciplines as a way to reconnect with Him, to “build that bridge” He is asking for. May we remember that forgiveness for others is as essential as forgiveness for ourselves.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Today, I want to express my gratitude for all the unseen ways you work in my life, helping me navigate each day safely, protecting my family (both my relatives and church family), and seeking your presence. Let Jesus Christ be seen in me today.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Written by Fran Baatz
Fran has been a lifelong member of Sheridan as the first baby girl to be baptized back in 1953 as her parents were charter members.
She loves to serve as a part of the Hospitality team as well as one of the Sheridan quilting teams. She is also a member of Lydia Circle.
Fran has four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren she adores as well as her two daughters.