Isaiah 40: 28-31 NIV
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
As we enter into Holy Week there is much to be excited about and it can be easy to forget about the uncomfortable truth of the events that led up to Easter Sunday. I know I’m certainly guilty of jumping straight to the excitement of a Risen King and all the festivities that accompany a Sunday of celebration.
I would like to encourage you to slow down a little and use these final days of the Lenten season to sit with some of the things that make you uncomfortable. In our day to day lives we have so many distractions and resources to keep us moving from one mountain top to another, without any real attention paid to what happens in the valleys. I know personally I tell myself to pick up my bootstraps and move on to what’s next so quickly sometimes, I don’t even allow myself to fully process the “why” behind the discomfort. Part of what makes the glory of the resurrection is the journey it took to get there and that applies to your life as well. Whether you find yourself on the mountain top or what feels like stranded in the wilderness, allow yourself to be present in that place. Give yourself a small break to sit in the discomfort with knowledge there is a resurrection waiting for you on the other side.
Gracious and loving God, as we live into this Holy Week help us to be present in the uncomfortable and embrace all that it holds for us. Amen.
-Mallory Nason, Assistant Director in the Office of Religious & Spiritual Life
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