Prayer: Loving God, thank you for listening to us. Thank you for knowing our hearts. Thank you for your grace. Help us to be still and listen for you. Help us to feel your presence. Amen.
Reading: Psalm 37 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: One of my favorite movies of all time is “Chocolat.” (Not just because I like chocolate, but that doesn’t hurt. J ) The main character, Vianne, is a single mom who roams from town to town, setting up a chocolate shop, and making just enough money to move on to the next town. She makes several good friends, but the mayor of the town is not one of them. He is troubled by the opening of a chocolate shop in the town during Lent. He does everything he can to prevent her business from succeeding. He even gets the local priest to preach sermons about how even little things, like eating chocolate during Lent, make us feel further away from God. Finally, Vianne has had enough. In my favorite scene in the movie, she has walked out to a dock and is simply standing next to the river. There is a brewing storm and the wind is blowing around her. But she simply stands there and is still. She listens to her surroundings. She feels the wind and the mist and takes some quiet moments to simply be. She listens to the stirrings in her soul and she listens for the presence of God. This little movie moment is the embodiment of this Psalm to me. She is being still before the Lord and waiting patiently for him. Because she is facing an enormous challenge and doesn’t know exactly what to do. What is the challenge that you are facing today? Take a moment to be still before the Lord and wait patiently for our God. Take a deep breath. God is alive and on the move. –Sarah Hershberger
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