September 23
Beloved families of Good Shepherd,
Peace be with you! I hope all of our families are well as we approach the upcoming fall break. This morning I loved sharing the Godly Play “Creation” Story with our four and five-year-old students at Good Shepherd Day School. At the end of our chapel time I go around and invite each child to receive an individual blessing. For the blessing I use holy water and make a Celtic cross on the back of the child’s hand. The children have the freedom to choose a blessing or to wave goodbye and line up at the door. This morning one child wasn’t sure if he wanted a blessing or not. He paused for a few seconds and then earnestly asked me the question, “but where is God?” My usual practice is to return the question to the child to help them hear their own truth, but for some strange reason this morning I said, “God is in us and all around us, all at once—isn’t that amazing?” He replied, “I am going to tell my mom about this!” and then held out his hand to receive a blessing. As I made a cross on the back of this child’s hand I said, “God created you, God loves you, God is always with you, and God said you are very good.”
Often the question “but where is God?” is the earnest question buried deep within every human heart. Sometimes we ask this question in our curiosity about God, or when we’ve experience painful or confusing life circumstances, or when we’ve entered a spiritual desert and God seems far away.
The people of God in Scripture, saints, and mystics throughout the ages have asked this fundamental question, “Where is God?”, and have traveled their own unique spiritual journeys to find God. Many of these folks discovered the presence of God in the stillness and silence of desert conditions, both physical and spiritual in nature. Author and mystic Thomas Merton discovered the presence of God in the desert of his own soul: “It is in the desert of loneliness and emptiness that the soul is purest, and the presence of God is most keenly felt, because there is nothing else to catch the eye.” (From Thomas Merton’s essay in his book, Raids on the Unspeakable).
God who is Love meets us in all of our life conditions, particularly our desert times, to reveal his Divine Presence and to give us life abundantly. Parents, grandparents, caregivers, and other interested adults are invited to join our new Godly Play Bible Study for Adults which begins Sunday, October 18. Our Godly Play Consultant, the Rev. Cynthia Insko, will lead a 5-week series of the stories of the People of God in the Desert. Come once or to the whole series. Let us know if you plan to join our Godly Play Bible Study for Adults, October 18 through November 15, 9-9:45 am, in our Contemplative Chapel (Room 204). Our Godly Play Sunday School for children ages 3 through 5th grade takes place every Sunday, 9-9:45 am, in our Good Shepherd Children’s Chapel (Room 256). Nursery care is available 8-11:30 am every Sunday. Parents are invited to drop of their children to Sunday School or to the nursery before joining our Godly Play Bible Study for Adults.
We hope you will join us for worship this Sunday!
Many Blessings,
Patty