Troubled...

This week has been long. Several things have happened and they trouble my spirit. I try not to hold onto the past, and yet it is there. I do my best to. be full of grace and forgiving. And yet, my heart is troubled.

Troubled because I can't change things. Troubled because when I share from my heart it is seen as me trying to be better than others. Troubled because I see the same things happening to my children. Troubled because it's hard to be "real" and authentic in the world today.

So what does a troubled heart do? It reads His Words of Truth.

John 14:27 CJB

“What I am leaving with you is shalom — I am giving you my shalom. I don’t give the way the world gives. Don’t let yourselves be upset or frightened."

I am always thankful for His Shalom. When I need to cry out I can do it to HIM. When I am troubled, He is there.

As the prayer in the Mishkan T'Filah A Reform Siddur page 175 says:

YOU ARE WITH US in our prayer, our love and our doubt,

in our longing to feel Your Presence and do Your will.

You are the still clear voice within us.

Therefore, O God, when doubt troubles us,

when anxiety makes us tremble,

when pain clouds the mind,

we look inward for the answer to our prayers.

There may we find You,

and there find courage, insight and endurance.

And let our worship bring us closer to one another,

that all Israel, and al who see You,

may find new strength for Your service.

My heart today is to find the strength to continue doing His service.

May we all find Shalom in His Presence. May we find the courage to do His service. When the water is roaring around is, and the storms are strong - may we be the drop that causes the water to ripple for His glory. May we be the splash of Shalom the world needs during these troubled times.

Love and blessings,

Rose