Today’s author is Debbie Jorgens, Prince of Peace’s Director of Congregational Care and Visitation.
When Prince of Peace members write a mid-week devotion, the norm is to follow-up on the previous Sunday’s text. However, we’re explicitly told that we have the freedom to write about anything. And since I still find myself thinking about Hannah’s prayer (1 Samuel 1:1-28; 2:1-10), I’m choosing to exercise this freedom.
Last week, I drove down to Mankato to visit my friend, Linda, for whom POP’s Prayer Ministry Team has been praying for many months. Linda had just made the difficult decision to go into hospice care after battling cancer – and a number of other health-related issues – for several years.
We had a good visit. Linda is at peace with her decision, although she is feeling sad that she has reached this point at all, let alone earlier than she had hoped. From the get-go, Linda was determined to fight as hard and as long as possible, and she has certainly done that, suffering far more than many of us would be able to endure. But despite all the prayers for Linda’s healing and strength, her body just can’t continue the fight.
In my October 13th sermon and in my devotion the following day, I referenced theologian Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki who reminds us that we are called to be completely honest in our praying because “God receives us as we are…and can lead us to where we can be” (In God’s Presence, 38). Reflecting on this quote, I wrote: “…driven by love, God is willing to meet us right where we are and lead us into a new future filled with possibilities, many of which are beyond our wildest imagination.”
I tend to be an optimist, a “glass-half-full” kind of person, one who is often imagining a future filled with exciting new possibilities! And yet, the reality is that there are few, if any, exciting new possibilities for Linda – at least, in this life. But throughout her journey, God has met Linda right where she is – in the midst of her suffering. And God continues to walk alongside her as she grieves over having to leave this world while giving thanks for the life and love she has known.
This is God’s promise for us all – to meet us and walk alongside us wherever we are, not only on the mountaintop, but when we have been thrust into the deepest, darkest valley. And if ever there’s a time we need to know that God is with us, it’s when we can’t see two steps in front of us. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me,” the psalmist proclaims.
But not only will God be with us in the valley; God will lead us out. Hannah’s prayers to conceive and bear a son were finally answered, bringing her into a new future that she had only imagined. Linda’s prayers have not been answered in the way she and countless others had hoped, but God is leading her into a new future, nonetheless, one that is open to all of God’s beloved children.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6)
God of faithfulness: Thank you for your boundless love and compassion. Help us to trust that you are with us, wherever we are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.