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Psalm 102, Domine, exaudi orationem meam, et clamor meus ad te veniat
By Mary Abrahamson O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto thee A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his soul to the Lord. The previous psalms in this series have focused on the particular sins and also, more generally, upon the sinful nature of the psalmist. This psalm, however, takes a different approach. Here we meditate upon the brokenness of the world. In this life there will be troubles. Natural disasters, broken relationships, societal demise, evil governments and regimes, terror of all varieties. All these can wear on the faithful, can sow seeds of doubt and despair, and can tax the emotional stamina…
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It Gets Better… Right?
By Sandra Ostapowich Now and then, mothers of older teens and young adults at church will pull me aside (apparently recognizing the clenched jaw and dark circles under my eyes, which reveal that my son has been stomping all over my short fuse of tightly-wound last nerves) and quietly tell me, “I remember that age. This, too, will pass.” Really? Are you sure? I’ve survived the newborn phase and the terrible toddler years, and even have managed to get through the early school-age grades. But now, just when I thought I had this mommying thing down, I’ve been truly humbled. Do you want to know who can cut to your…
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The Elusive BFF
By Vanessa Rasanen What’s wrong with me? This is a question I’ve asked myself often. Sometimes after I’ve managed to royally stick my foot in my mouth and insult someone — again. Or perhaps after a particularly stellar display of gullibility at believing some made-up claim from my husband. (I’m learning on that one, though… albeit slowly.) Or it could also be following another moment when I stumble and trip over my own sinful feet and treat someone — a friend, my kids, a stranger — in a not-so-nice or neighborly manner. But usually it’s for the simple reason that I seem to be the only woman on the face of the…
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A Mom’s Ministry
By Allison Hull Recently I was in a discussion with an acquaintance. While our kids played, we hit the various “mom talking points”. Health, kids, their bodily functions, who gets the least amount of sleep, and guess-what-that-stain-is all the while being interrupted by a scream from a child or barking at them to stop whatever torture they were inflicting on a sibling. If you’re a mom to young children, you know this is just an average conversation. But towards the end it turned weird. She started asking me about my faith and what I was doing to further the kingdom. Caught off guard I half-smiled, turned and gestured to my…
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Stuck in a Bad Mood
By Vanessa Rasanen My house is currently in disarray. Our to-do list seems to grow right alongside the pile of packed boxes in the corner and my nearly-third trimester belly that has long-been hiding my feet. We are, perhaps crazily, working to get our house ready to put on the market in hopes of moving out — and up — before this fourth baby blesses our home and family with cute coos and sleepless nights. As if that wasn’t enough on our plate, we are also — all of us — adjusting to my husband’s new full-time work schedule in addition to national guard duty, an online course, church commitments,…
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Psalm 51, Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam
By Mary Abrahamsson Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. In this well known and well loved Psalm God gives us some wonderfully clear expressions of original sin, guilt over specific sins, and repentance for forgiveness of sins through His great mercy in Jesus. David references cleansing with hyssop, bulls, burnt offerings, and sacrifices, all part of the ceremonial cleansing rites God commanded in the Old Testament. Many of the refrains are familiar from our liturgies. The liturgies of both the Old and New Testament church consistently proclaim sin and the need for…
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How to not drown in disappointent
By Holly Scheer When I was little I had this idea that an intrinsic part of adulthood was that finally I’d get to have things my own way. I’d get to decide what to do, when I wanted to do it, and who I wanted to do it with. I would be in charge. My own boss. I would be master of myself and my destiny. Sisters, that’s not how adulthood works. We’re not islands unto ourselves, able to selfishly act just based on what benefits us. What feels good, makes us happy, fulfills us. We are sisters, mothers, daughters, wives, neighbors… we are part of a family. Vocation places…
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Psalm 38, Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me, in rememorationem de sabbato
By Mary Abrahamson O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, for a remembrance of the Sabbath, A Psalm of David Oh, this is vivid! Right from the beginning, David gives us a searing image of God’s anger, …. hot displeasure, arrows piercing, hand pressing. God’s righteous wrath over our sin isacutely portrayed in these two short verses. Again we see God pressing on David to show David his sin. O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down. The following verses remind us of the physical and emotional burden of our sin. We may think…
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Conversation and Consolation of the Brethren
By Vanessa Rasanen I have a confession. I’m not the most patient person. Shocker, I know. I get easily frustrated with others — including (and perhaps especially) with those closest to me, my husband and my children. Even my dogs. I let the day-to-day irritations of life get under my skin more than I should, and I yell, fume, and even — sadly — stomp my feet. To make it all worse I will sometimes vent to friends, privately complaining about the mess the kids made, the struggle we’re having with the kids’ manners, or even the annoying habit of some stranger on the road or at the grocery store. My…
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Milk, Meat, and Introducing Solids
By Mary Moerbe You don’t have to be a parent to know that life gradually gives you more to chew on and understand. Each one of us learned, “The sky is blue” before we learned how and why that happens — if we learned — and religious life and education is in some ways comparable: there is milk and there is meat. St. Peter is clear: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3). Taste! Drink! Grow by the goodness of our God! Long for pure spiritual milk. Wake…
