– Rev. Vickie Woolard, Pastor at Plymouth UMC
I rested awhile this afternoon in the cool of a church not my own, listening to a choir practice their Sunday morning hymns and offerings to God.
I heard beautiful old melodies, based on ancient psalms composed thousands of years ago, by people who were just like us, composed by people who had children at home they were worried about, by people who wondered what they would serve for dinner, by people who had to rise up from their praise and return to work.
They worried over their sick, mourned their dead, questioned where the coins to pay taxes would come from.
They struggled to teach their children, grumbled about the heat, shared their fears with each other.
They laughed together, wept together, rejoiced together.
They were just like us, those ancient people of faith.
They believed in a God who loved them.
They doubted whether they were worthy of His love.
They wondered how God could love them.
They felt inadequate to serve Him.
And yet, and yet, they composed the words I heard in this beautiful little church this afternoon, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?”
[Psalm 42.1-2].
They are us, we are them.
Remember that you are, wherever you are, whoever you are, precious to God.
And know, really know, that it is your faith that will reach and inspire a new generation of disciples.
Blessings,
Vickie