Reflect
During these troubling times, it can sometimes feel like we do not belong. In being disconnected from our communities and the lives we once knew, it is sometimes easy to believe the lie that we are lost or do not have a home. At a time when it is easy to feel separated, may we open our hearts and minds to be found by God and by others.
Pray
Belonging—
my deepest longing,
but who said
the one sheep wanders?
Maybe it’s the ninety-nine
who sought conformity,
idolizing uniformity,
though diversity thrives
in difference
leaving the one
with no choice
but to find a new flock
on the ridge.
Maybe the story ends
just the same
no less,
when I hear my name
called in the dark
by the Beloved
as I’m tangled
to die in vines.
Great Shepherd,
please find me.
Amen.
Act
When you feel separated or alone today, breathe the last lines of today’s prayer: “Great (inhale) Shepherd (exhale), please (inhale) find (exhale) me (inhale), Amen (exhale).”