Hope Grows Here- A Retreat Response

Devotion Thought and Challenge

Romans 13:8-10      Don't run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code-don't sleep with another person's spouse, don't take someone's life, don't take what isn't yours, don't always be wanting what you don't have, and any other "don't" you can think of-finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can't go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love. (The Message Bible)

"Your seven minutes begins now," the facilitator announced. The black and white graphic was on the table in front of me. I read its message silently to myself, "faith over fear." With a black fine-tip marker I added names to the empty spaces in and around the artsy lettering: my husband; our children; a neighbor; my co-worker's daughter; my brother. I selected colored pencils from the clear glass jar and turned "faith" into a word rainbow of promise-red, orange, yellow, green, blue-"over" became purple. I shaded "fear" with a foreboding, gloomy gray and sighed as I reread the message, "faith over fear." 

My train of thought was interrupted by the time keeper. "That was seven minutes," she announced. Unlike seven minutes stuck in traffic or the seven tedious minutes of a poorly run meeting, this block of time flew by. I had become completely immersed in the words, what they meant in relationship to the people whose names I wrote down, and in choosing meaningful colors to uncover a deeper connection to the message. Essentially, I was coloring a page from an adult coloring book (the new trendy elixir for unraveling stress), an activity I had previously deemed unproductive. I failed to see its purpose, my task-oriented mindset left wanting.

This experience was different. As part of a day-long Hope Grows Here women's retreat, I opted to attend a "Break-Through" session titled, Visual Prayer. The objective was to learn about another way to quietly pray while keeping our hands busy and our minds focused. It worked for me. Each of the names I wrote down represented some kind of fear with which I was wrestling, but after dedicated time centered on those words, "faith over fear," I felt more at peace and able to surrender my concerns to God. My eyes did not need to be closed, nor my hands folded. No pun intended, it was an eye-opening experience.

The presenter was quick to emphasize that Visual Prayer probably wouldn't work for everyone. "This is just one option, one possibility," she said. As an example, she talked about an elementary math teacher tasked with helping a room full of students to work independently while problem solving, the end goal for all to arrive at the same answer. Teachers adept at recognizing different learning styles, know that the journey to the same destination can be different and they will teach to a child's strengths, setting them up for success. 

I asked my daughter about this. She teaches 4^th grade "compacted" math and agrees how important it is to accept different learning styles or "multiple intelligences" as labeled by researchers. She explained to me that some people are visual learners, "like you, Mom." Others learn best when they are actively doing something or manipulating objects. Hearing the how and why may be the key to unlock knowledge and skill for another. She understands how her students learn best. She not only wants them to know, for example, that 2+2=4, but more so, she wants each of them to understand why and to identify how they can apply their knowledge in everyday life. One of her favorite quotes about teaching and learning comes from the book, Educating Esme. "31 children, 31 possibilities." I imagine Christ feels the same way about all of us.

We are possibilities. Christ encourages, "Break-Through into something new or different." He gently reminds, "Faith over fear." He nudges, "I'm right here with you." 

Today's challenge-"Don't run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love." New math, old math, compacted math ... visual learner, learning by doing or listening ... what works for you? No matter how we pray or worship or serve, "the sum total is love." Do we understand why? How do we apply this knowledge every day of our lives? Hope Grows Here.

Dear Lord, 

Help me to enthusiastically seek opportunities for learning and loving. Help me to be faithful. Work through me to cultivate hope. Where I see a challenge, let me instead discover possibilities. Amen

This devotion was written by Mary Jo Anderson and originally 

appeared on the website for Good Shepherd Lutheran Church,

 Gaithersburg, MD.

This Frontline Devotion is reprinted here
 with permission from the author.