Floundering
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28 ESV)
Why do I need the LS this week?
The last time I had laryngitis this bad was around ten years ago. I was helping at a youth camp located in the forest behind Mt. Rushmore, and we were on a hike. Somehow, I had fallen behind on the familiar path, and it had started to rain. And it had turned cold. And I became lost.
I had travelled the path many times, but on that afternoon every tree and every rocky outcrop seemed familiar, but dislocated. And I began to make every mistake that a woodsman never makes. I walked faster. I repeatedly stopped and rotated, searching for any familiar nearby landmark. I became afraid.
I was floundering.
And then I found my way. Really, it was three things. First, I remembered some things. I remembered that moss really does grow more readily on the north side of trees and rocks, and that I needed to head west. Second, I listened. There is always noise in the woods. And I could hear the hints of civilization when I wasn’t wheezing and stomping. Third, I allowed myself to feel some faith. To trust that this path had an end, and a good one at that. Hot chocolate, probably.
And my hope, combined with faint but clear sounds, and a deducted sense of direction saved me. Even if I lost my voice.
And that floundering feeling is more common than I like to admit. And that is one reason I relish the Lord’s Supper. Because the Lord’s Supper enables me to find my way out of the rainy, cold, lonely forest.
It reminds me of something that I know. Just like that Northern moss, remembering my Jesus can give me some clarity. He lived, and His life gives me meaning and direction.
The Words that I hear (even when I am speaking them,) though faint in the cacophony of pains, fears, and accusations, grab and hold my attention. Those words are what I really need to hear… He loves me, even unto and beyond death.
And that strange, irrational (but oh, so rational!) hope is present, too. His presence warms me, fills me, enables me, holds me, upholds me, and enlivens me.
I need those things, whenever I flounder.
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Remember this week to acknowledge God’s gift of life. And to grieve for those daily who lose their life, due to the American Abortion Tragedy. This week we recall the Roe v Wade decision. Have mercy, Lord… have mercy.