Through the Wilderness

May the peace of Christ go with you wherever He may send you
May He guide you through the wilderness
Protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
At the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing 
Once again into our doors. (A Celtic Evening Blessing)

I collect blessings.  I know something else weird to know about me, but maybe not so weird when you consider I'm a priest.  Anyway, I hear blessings, write them down and tape them into the back of my Book of Common Prayer.  Then every week I choose which one I want to use.  I try to choose ones that may have a meaning for that day or for a group of people, or I alternate so both I and the congregation hear something different every week--so it doesn't become rote all the time (read so we don't get bored).

Last Sunday this was the blessing I used--I actually didn't mean to choose it for any particular reason, but when I was into the second line--it hit me.  I got through it, but I suspect more than one person heard me choke up.

I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about this blessing and wilderness in general.  There are so many stories in the bible about the wilderness.  One morning on my walk I decided to head back and make a list of all the stories I could find.  I got sidetracked editing the bulletin and discovered I didn't have to look far--this very week our Old Testament reading is 1 Kings 19:4-8:  (Isn't it amazing how God works?)

Elijah went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 

I've been thinking about how so often in Scripture it is in the wilderness where people are confronted with their greatest fears and have to draw on their inner strength and rely on God to get through.  And how through the wilderness God provides again and again.  (Cakes baked by your head; manna from heaven....)

As I think about this blessing I think about the wildernesses some of us live in everyday.  The wilderness of loneliness, the wilderness of depression, the wilderness of cancer and other diagnosis, the wilderness of broken relationships, the wilderness of--well just the wilderness of life.  And for others, they actually are in the physical wilderness...

I've been thinking about, praying about all those wildernesses and the strength it takes for us to get through them; I've been thinking more about the wildernesses of others--the wildernesses people travel alone--people I care about, people I love.  As I've been thinking about this blessing I have been wondering about the wonders.

Getting better at the selfies

Yesterday I was sitting on the beach alone watching the waves roll in and listening to the sounds of children splashing, and I thought what a glorious and wonderful world God has made, and I gave thanks for the wonders God was showing me right then. But then I thought more (beach does that to me)...

I thought about how much we don't always recognize the wonder of ourselves. It made me sad...

Isn't he beautiful?

I came home and saw a picture of a friend and her brand new baby and I gave thanks for this new person who was "knit together in his mother's womb." (Psalm 139: 13) And I prayed he would have a wonderful life and always know how much he is unconditionally loved by God and his family.  I prayed that he would never not know that he was "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139: 14), that he would never have to walk through any wilderness.

But I know that beautiful new baby boy will some day walk through a wilderness.  No matter how much love he is surrounded by (and there's a ton), one day he will have to walk out on his own. So I prayed that when he did, he always knew he wasn't alone.  That he always knew God would be with him wherever he may go.  And I began to think, could it be that when we're in our wilderness some of the wonders God is showing us is how much God loves us and could it be that God is showing us the wonder of ourselves? So I've taken liberty and reworded just a bit...

May the peace of Christ go with you wherever He may send you out into the world, into your jobs, into your schools, into your homes, into the public, into your minds.
May He guide you through the wilderness of loneliness, trauma, difficulty, day to day life, and the actual physical wilderness.
Protect you through the storms of hardships, of things you think you cannot get through yourself, of life.
May He bring you home rejoicing--home just bring you home.
At the wonders He has shown you--the wonders of His love for you and the wonders of the incredible person you are, the person God created you to be.
May He bring you home rejoicing that you know God unconditionally loves you--no exceptions, rejoicing at the strength you had to get through, the courage you had to stick with it, 
Once again into our doors.

And God gave me a little reminder--God promises to go with you wherever you may go.