Life is Ever Changing

One of my favorite benedictions to offer at the end of worship goes something like this:

“Friends, I do not know what life will offer any of us during the upcoming week, but I do know that whatever happens God is with us.  So, may the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ and the strength and power of the Holy Spirit sustain you as you go in peace.” 

Today we all dressed in green and celebrated a day named after a 5^th Century minister named St. Patrick.  His ministry is well remembered through what has come to be known as his breastplate or his prayer.  These words capture the truth of the incarnation. 

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

This prayer reminds readers that the word was made flesh and dwells among us and assures us that in life we are not alone.  Life is an ever changing mystery and God in Christ is an ever present constant at work in the lives of humankind. 

On the day my dad looked at me and told me, “I have cancer and it is aggressive,” on the day that my water broke and I was only 28 weeks into my pregnancy with Ella and Mattie, and on the day my grandfather fell through a roof at his church and was killed instantly, God was present.  On the day I headed off to Russia to live with a host family my junior year of high school, on the day I held a healthy 8.9 ounce little girl named Kate, and on a day like today that was pretty normal, God was present.  Life is ever changing and God in Christ is ever present.