Our help is in the name of the Lord. Amen.

— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —

This wooden angel sits in my room at work, between my desk overloaded with patient charts waiting for their turn and the big glass window separating my inside world and the much larger outside. He (or She ?) hovers there, steadfast, never leaving, quietly over me and my work as if she is present ready to interact, but only if I turn towards him and notice his presence in my life. With his wings spread out he radiates peace and at the same time the power of flying, soaring on wings like eagles. A power which doesn’t come out of himself but which is given to him as he trusts in the Lord, his creator. Beautifully carved out of a piece of wood the veins reflect the dynamic movement caught in the moment, still reflecting something grown over a long time.

Every morning I try to start my work with a prayer we used to pray when we entered as altar boys His service in the nave of the old church in my home town: “Our help is in the name of the Lord. Amen.” A prayer which has given me strength during so many phases of my life because I could feel the power of calling on His name, realizing His presence in many challenges during work when my wisdom fell short, too short to find the right answers, my love was too weak to cover the need of my patients, when the extra mile was just too long, my eye lids too heavy to continue. It has become an ever-lasting and repeatedly new promise in my life to know where my help comes from and under whose flag I am entering my daily battles. The angel has become a daily reminder and symbol of this prayer becoming an instrument in His hand.

Lord, let Your angel be present in the morning
when we open our eyes into a new day,
when we get up to do what is set before us.
Lord, let us seek your presence, promises and will
in the moments of joy, the moments of loss, of hardship,
whether walking strong like lions or hiding in fear.
Lord, let Your angel abide with us,
don’t let go,
walk with us and never leave.

The angel was a gift of a patient, created by him after coming out of a very difficult time in the hospital; it has become a great source of comfort for me in my work, because it has become a symbol of His grace present.

And therefore, we can go out and serve others in the name of the Lord.

“And be sure of this:
I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20

AMEN.