Dear Kaleid Ladies,
Have you ever wondered what God is doing?
Have you ever wondered what God is doing here, now?
Those questions can be received one of two ways.
Sometimes the circumstances and movements in life that seem to be God-made are tremendously unsettling. Scary and confusing. Perhaps even panic-inducing.
We only need to recall the last gut punch of bad news to recall when our hearts have gasped, “What are you doing here, Lord?!”
Alternatively, sometimes God moves and we gasp in wonder. We proclaim in renewed hope or faith or love, “What are you doing here, Lord!?” Our hearts worship at the unexpected movement of God.
Today we bring you a contemplative practice from our Wednesday morning series “When Love Meets Fear.” We used imaginative prayer to guide us into the story of Jesus walking on the water and speaking to the disciples’ fears. (Just click on this link to access the practice.)
There are a few tellings of this story in the gospels. One is in Matthew. One is in Mark. They are different, and when we read them side by side, we recognize that when God shows up, it can be scary. Recognizing God’s presence can provoke confusion or worship. It just depends.
In Mark, Jesus walks on the water. This scares the disciples. Jesus speaks courage to them and gets in the boat with them. And the disciples are stunned and unable to understand.
In Matthew, Jesus walks on the water. This scares the disciples (and motivates Peter to try it, too). Jesus speaks courage to them and gets in the boat with them. And the disciples recognize and worship Jesus as God’s Son.
When God surprises us in our circumstances, sometimes we are simply confused (as in the Mark narrative), and sometimes we are led to worship (as in the Matthew narrative), but no matter what our response, Jesus says the same thing: “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” No matter what our response, Jesus does the same thing: He gets in the boat with us.
Whether we think we “get” what the Lord is doing in a particular set of circumstances or not, we can know that our human response is ok with Jesus, and we can rest in the reassurance that Jesus is with us, speaking courage to us, and patiently loving us through our fear.
Peace to you today, friend. We hope you’ll receive our gift and set some time to partake in the imaginative prayer practice. We hope that as you do, you’ll sense God’s courage dropping into the complicated circumstances of your life.
Gratefully,
The Kaleid Team
P.S. Interested in being more connected with women who want to see themselves, others, and their community through new lenses? We begin two fall circles NEXT WEEK!! Sign ups are still open, and we’d love to have you for Foundations, Embracing Shifts, the upcoming contemplative on the Lord’s Prayer, or Power, Patriarchy, Women, and the Church! Learn more here.