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Relections
Each week, the FVLA Principal prepares a personal spiritual reflection. Through these reflections, it is the prayer of Fox Valley Lutheran Academy that each person walking on a journey of Christian discipleship is able to know, understand, and experience the importance of God's grace that has been abundantly given and can be gratefully shared. If you would like to have a copy of each week's reflection emailed to you, simply click to subscribe.
Each week, the FVLA Principal prepares a personal spiritual reflection. Through these reflections, it is the prayer of Fox Valley Lutheran Academy that each person walking on a journey of Christian discipleship is able to know, understand, and experience the importance of God's grace that has been abundantly given and can be gratefully shared. If you would like to have a copy of each week's reflection emailed to you, simply click to subscribe.
Like a Rock
September 7, 2010
September 7, 2010
A piece of black basalt, polished and worn smooth by the waves of Lake Superior, became a recent addition to my office desk. I received it as a gift given with the hope that it would remind me how faith in God is a solid rock that helps in weathering the storms of life.
What an appropriate symbol, in fact, it is! That’s especially true when one thinks of the journey such a rock took prior to settling in next to my paper clips. Basalt is volcanic, born through intense heat followed by cooling to solidify. Then its adventure continued during many years along Lake Superior. Extremes of heat from the sun and freezing of the bitter winter eventually separated it from the larger mass it was once a part. Certainly that smaller piece was jostled and thrown, tossed and turned by the endless erosive action of mighty waves. Yet the rock I now have is a work of beauty, smooth to the touch, calming to hold.
Our journey of life might not be quite so dramatic, yet at times it can feel just as traumatic. We find our days complicated, challenging, and often too complex to understand. All the difficulties experienced together become daunting. Tests and trials grow tiresome, challenges chip away at our confidence, and when we look ahead at a schedule that seems insurmountable, our strength surrenders to stress.
Though we are tossed about, rock solid we can stand. This is not our own doing but a gift from God; for by faith we are connected to Jesus Christ, our Savior. His death on the cross earned for us salvation and brought us into the family of God. Through faith the burden of guilt and the stumbling of our shortcomings are lifted from us. Bits of encouragement come when we see that none of the challenges we face are ones we must face alone. As God walks with us, He gives us hope. As God picks us up when we fall, we are healed. As God lives within us, we find courage to overcome our fears. These truths mean that even when all supports we have made for ourselves erode, we find beauty in what God creates for us out of the debris a day can leave behind.
When we pause and reflect on God’s action in our lives, we are able to recognize faith as our sure footing. It is by faith alone that we stand on the firm foundation of our God who loves us this day and every day no matter what we do or what we experience.
We will be pushed and pulled, bumped and bruised, hurt and harried today. Yet Psalm 62:6 reminds us of our hope…He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
Weathering the storms of life like a rock...
that is God’s gift to us through faith.
What an appropriate symbol, in fact, it is! That’s especially true when one thinks of the journey such a rock took prior to settling in next to my paper clips. Basalt is volcanic, born through intense heat followed by cooling to solidify. Then its adventure continued during many years along Lake Superior. Extremes of heat from the sun and freezing of the bitter winter eventually separated it from the larger mass it was once a part. Certainly that smaller piece was jostled and thrown, tossed and turned by the endless erosive action of mighty waves. Yet the rock I now have is a work of beauty, smooth to the touch, calming to hold.
Our journey of life might not be quite so dramatic, yet at times it can feel just as traumatic. We find our days complicated, challenging, and often too complex to understand. All the difficulties experienced together become daunting. Tests and trials grow tiresome, challenges chip away at our confidence, and when we look ahead at a schedule that seems insurmountable, our strength surrenders to stress.
Though we are tossed about, rock solid we can stand. This is not our own doing but a gift from God; for by faith we are connected to Jesus Christ, our Savior. His death on the cross earned for us salvation and brought us into the family of God. Through faith the burden of guilt and the stumbling of our shortcomings are lifted from us. Bits of encouragement come when we see that none of the challenges we face are ones we must face alone. As God walks with us, He gives us hope. As God picks us up when we fall, we are healed. As God lives within us, we find courage to overcome our fears. These truths mean that even when all supports we have made for ourselves erode, we find beauty in what God creates for us out of the debris a day can leave behind.
When we pause and reflect on God’s action in our lives, we are able to recognize faith as our sure footing. It is by faith alone that we stand on the firm foundation of our God who loves us this day and every day no matter what we do or what we experience.
We will be pushed and pulled, bumped and bruised, hurt and harried today. Yet Psalm 62:6 reminds us of our hope…He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
that is God’s gift to us through faith.
©2008-2010 Fox Valley Lutheran Academy
1111 Van Street, Elgin, IL 60123
www.fvla.com - 847-741-7795
All Rights Reserved
1111 Van Street, Elgin, IL 60123
www.fvla.com - 847-741-7795
All Rights Reserved