Good morning…
“Sue and Steve,” a longtime friend emailed my husband and me yesterday. “Sending blessings to the two of you who minister to so many in so many ways. I bet you already have this resource, but I’m forwarding in case you don’t. Steve, I am praying for you and our community at Lovett as we begin a new school year. God is in the mix!”
Then she shared with us the following words of wisdom.
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Encouragement for you who stand in the place of people’s deepest pain by Kate Bowler
Blessed are the wounded healers,
Those who serve others
in the midst of their own confusion
and isolation, doubt and loss.
God, may they know beyond doubt
that you are there,
and that they are not alone
in this world.
May they feel your love
poured out for them
so profusely, so personally,
that love overflows to you in return.
Grant them the
specific encouragement they need
that will set them on a
joyful path of service again.
Provide for them rest for their bodies,
nourishment for their souls,
and a trusted friend
for life’s most perplexing questions.
Guide them in practical ways
as they seek to find
ways to lead in uncertainty,
comfort people in their sickness,
console them in their grief,
and celebrate with them
life’s greatest joys.
Grant them grace to know somehow,
that in your economy
Your love has a math
that compounds according to the
mystical science of the cross.
******
I really love this final statement. “Your love has a math that compounds according to the mystical science of the cross.” Take a moment to reflect on this divine dynamic. The mystical science of the cross allows God’s love to compound in our daily lives, somehow.
We follow in the footsteps of a wounded healer. Confusion. Isolation. Doubt. Loss. This is the way of the cross. Uncertainty. Sickness. Grief. Somehow a pathway is opened to a greater joy. God is with us. We are not alone. Love is poured out, profusely and personally. Expanding love overflows into joyful service. Transformed by sacrificial love, we rest with and are nourished by our trusted friend. We are guided in practical ways to lead and to comfort, to console and to celebrate life with those in need. Surrendering into the mathematics of God’s love, we are invited to stand in the place of people’s deepest pain. Caught up in the mystical science of the cross, we learn to trust the regenerative power of our living Lord.
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you (2 Corinthians 9:10, NLT).
As this new school year begins, may we be given grace to experience God’s compounding compassion.
…Sue…
