Prayer: Father, when I disappoint you, show me how to make it up to you. When I turn away, call me back. When I need time to think, provide the space. Thank you for your loving guidance, Abba, always. Amen. Reading: Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32 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: As a parent, the hardest part of raising children has always been in dealing with their disobedience. Too often, their transgressions seemed predictable, or worse, so similar to my own earlier rule-breaking that it seemed hypocritical to punish their bad behavior. Yet, I believe parents are charged by God to steer, teach, correct, and yes, punish their children. And so, wrongdoings were answered with reprimands, confiscation of property, groundings. These penalties sometimes met tears and objections that worried me – would my child receive the intended time to think and learn, or did they merely feel rejected? Thankfully, the bible provides lessons in love, mercy, and forgiveness to guide us in how we deal with our kids’ mistakes. And by grace, we can also find assurance that our Father tolerates our disobedience with the same patient, merciful love. We are created with free choice, and so, we will screw up. It’s inevitable. Then, we will be corrected. God has no intention of rejecting us, only redressing our mistakes. Eventually, hopefully, we will learn and improve. --Heather LeBlanc
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