Sunday, February 26, 2012

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,

Psalm 25:4

     Mazes have been a source of entertainment for generations.  Made in gardens or corn fields, these intricate and interconnected pathways can provide hours of entertainment, while at the same time invoking doubt and confusion. We can get lost, feel like we will never find the end, and then rejoice when we reach our goal.

  God’s ways can sometimes feel like a maze.  We don't always see a clear path.  Choices  abound and our own ego clouds our judgement.  When we look forward, we see what appears to be a wall stopping our progression.  But when we arrive at the wall, we see that it is actually part of a new path leading us toward the goal.  Being open to learning and trusting in a new way, in God's way, is the goal of a spiritual life.  But we first need to realize that our ways and God's ways are not always the same.  We need to become teachable.  Just as the psalmist acknowledges his ignorances and asks to be taught, so too can we.  We can join him in the journey, through our failures and our success, and then rejoice with him in a new way of being.

     Today, let us ask God to open our hearts and our minds so that we may become teachable.  Let us welcome the education of God's ways and paths for our lives trusting that the love God has for us will sustain us through unknown.

Prayer:  God of love and patience, we come before you today knowing that our ways are not always your ways.  Help us to set aside our egos and open our hearts so that we may be taught your life-giving and life-affirming ways.  Keep us steadfast on your path trusting that you will be with us, loving us and sustaining us, every step of the way.