Thursday, July 30, 2020  

Today’s Scripture Reading  |  Psalm 128

Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel! (NRSV)

Reflection
Count your blessings! I tend to be a lemonade and silver-lining kind of person, but I must admit that spring was pretty rough. I worked a choral festival on March 11 with my smaller choir performing as part of the event. It was a great day, but there was a chill in the air, literally and figuratively. I received a phone call just before the concert to inform me that the concert we had scheduled for the next night would be canceled, and the rest is history. I haven’t rehearsed with my ensembles since. I haven’t seen my students except through a video screen. I haven’t had physical contact with anyone except my wife and my kids. The science as I understand it currently doesn’t look promising for a return to singing in the near term. Dark clouds and lemons.

Yet once I came to terms with what I was unable to do, I started looking at two very important things. First, what I am able to do within the constraints of the situation. Second, I counted the many blessings I still have in my family. My kids are currently safe and healthy and being careful about distances. There is work for me to do. I’m an educator with a job. That alone is a blessing. Yes, teaching this way can be challenging, but challenges are there to overcome, to learn from, to grow from. While I really don’t enjoy learning curves, I’ve learned a lot about myself, about my students, about my profession, and about my faith in a God that reforms us and asks us to continually reform.

May we each find the peace and prosperity (internal riches) that are found in the trust in God’s love and in the doing of God’s work.

Prayer
God of countless blessings, help me to find the good in the challenges of this life. Guide me along the way that leads to my fulfillment and that of those with whom I interact so that we might all experience the peace that passes all understanding. Through Christ our brother and our Savior. Amen

Written by Rob Sinclair, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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