— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
Modern technology has greatly aided the ability of the meteorological forecasters to detect and report the movement of hurricane force winds throughout the world.
However there are still times when one is caught by surprise, as was the case here in Freiburg/Black Forest a few years ago. Many trees were brought to the ground, but only a handful, when compared to the thousands which were not affected.
Chances are that you’ve never been caught up in a storm or hurricane, but quite likely have seen this on the news or in the movies. Palm or coconut trees dance to and fro, up and down, just frolicking in the wind.. One wonders, how are they still up? Why haven’t they been uprooted or torn apart? Amazingly, they remain standing after the heavy winds. How can that be, one wonders.
Could it be that the answer lies, metaphorically in the following teaching from Jesus?
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Matthew 7:24-25 NIV
In this text, Jesus mentions three threats to our houses; (replace houses with livelihood), rains, floods and winds.
Rains can vary greatly – they can be a foggy drizzle that sucks the joy out of our day. They can be light. Or they can be out and out downpours. Taken together these are the everyday troubles/challenges of life. Some troubles are small, persistent and annoying. Some are more troublesome.
Floods are obviously times when an all-out life threatening disaster is coming at us: a catastrophic illness, the death of a loved one, a divorce, a job loss, rejection, financial hardship/ ruin, etc. We are in real danger of being swept off our feet and drowned. It might not be a bad idea to point out, that there are usually warning signs that a flood is imminent. An observing and discerning mind can help to minimize the effect of these adversities.
Winds can be seen as “words.” Words that have great power to either build up or tear down. The words that beat against our houses are things like thoughtless remarks from a friend, a harsh rebuke from a boss, a heartless, cowardly attack from those most dear to us
Jesus tells us that hearing and doing His words will empower us to withstand these forces. He promises that our houses will not fall.
Attending church regularly and being active in church affairs is a noble practice, but is not enough to build a strong foundation to minimize the effect of these eventualities.
The search of a closer relationship with the Almighty, through regular bible reading, meditation and prayer, will pave the way for deeper roots, producing and a more sustainable spiritual faith to stand against the rains, floods and winds.
Take heart, the healer of all wounds is only a breath away.
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 