Day 8 - Issue 27
Numbers 11:12 NLT
'Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors?'
I have discovered late in life how much I love to garden. St Cuthbert’s Oratory has, to my mind, a large garden. Originally laid to lawn, together Jayne and I have worked to create colour throughout the year, a celebration of life. Earlier this year on a hot bank holiday weekend, I was digging out a new flower bed. As I did so, I encountered buried debris deposited by earlier builders. I was hot, frustrated and forced to work really hard to lift bricks, concrete and other builders’ materials from the soil.
Initially I allowed my enjoyment to be stolen, resentful at the additional work required of me. Work to put right something that wasn’t my responsibility. And then I got to thinking and realised that each boulder was no more than a piece of resistance to God’s vision for a beautiful natural space for contemplation and God encounter. Why was I complaining? Had I not embraced God’s call to realise this Oratory vision? Why did I assume that it would come easily?
It was a reminder that with faith comes responsibility. Faith is not some theoretical narrative about pursuing God. It alone gives substance to that pursuit of God. Each obstacle can be a demoralising barrier or a character-forming opportunity for discovery about myself and about the nature of God. As I dug I realised I need only go at the pace I could manage. Resting was not defeat, merely some moments for quiet reflection around the project I was engaged in. The end was a long time coming, longer than I’d planned and far more demanding of me than I wanted. Yet, this is the way of faith. Each challenge is a means to discover the depth of my faith, and what obstacles lie beneath the surface obstructing fruitfulness in my own life.
QUESTION: What work of faith do you need to be about in your life?
PRAYER: Lord, help me to face the obstacles and challenges as opportunities to grow in faith.
