Billy Strayhorn tells about a nature show he once saw about black bears. A particular cub had been orphaned and later adopted by a new mama bear. At some point the two became separated, and the cub began to cry, wandering about and looking everywhere for his new mother. Then, just as he approached a stream, he looked up to see a mountain lion ready to pounce.

The camera zoomed in on the cub as he did what bears do when threatened — he stood on his hind legs and bared his teeth. He let loose a growl that should have shaken the trees. But only a tiny bear cub squeak came out. Just when it seemed the mountain lion was ready to have the cub for lunch, the big cat lowered his head and ran off in the opposite direction.

The camera panned back to the proud little cub, still standing tall on his hind legs. And then the viewers were able to see what the cub could not see: a few yards behind him, at full ferocious height, sharp white teeth bared in a snarl, stood mama bear. She hadn't even made a sound. But she was there.

Strayhorn reflects, "Even though the cub couldn't see his mother, she stood guard, protecting her young. The little cub had power available to him greater than anything he could produce on his own. There was a greater power watching over him."

The cub didn't know mama bear was there. He only knew he was afraid — and that somehow, in that moment, it was enough to stand his ground. That is sometimes how faith works. We don't always feel the presence of God behind us. We don't always see what is standing guard. But we are invited to stand anyway — and trust that we are not as alone as we feel.

You are not facing what you are facing alone. There is a greater power standing behind you — closer than you know, and bigger than whatever it is in front of you.

Prayer: Loving God, in those anxious, fearful moments, help us turn to you. Remind us to draw our strength, courage, and wisdom from you. Grant us the ability to trust. Ultimately we rest in your hands. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

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I remember a few years ago, one of my friends had a daughter who had just started dating. We were joking around about it. He said, "When she comes home from that first date, I'm going to be sitting on the front porch cleaning my shotgun." I said, "You don't even have a shotgun." He said, "I know. But I'm going to buy one just for the occasion!" We laughed. But underneath the laughter I could tell there was a legitimate sadness — a realization that his daughter was growing up, that she didn't need him the way she once did. She was no longer that little girl clinging to his legs.

That moment captured something most of us know but rarely say out loud. Things don't stay the same. Children grow up. Friends change. Some move away. Some pass away. We change. And even if we want to go back, we can't. That is not the way life works.

What we can do is appreciate what we have right now. We can practice gratitude for this moment, for the people around us today.

In one of his Dial Hope messages, my friend Roger Kunkel wrote about a sign he saw at a plant nursery. It said, "The best time to buy a tree was 20 years ago." Roger read that and thought, "Thanks a lot!" But on the back of the sign he noticed these words: "The second best time to buy a tree is today." Today.

That is true in life as well. If there are wrongs you need to amend, forgiveness you need to offer, things you need to let go of, people who need to hear how much you love them — don't wait for the perfect moment. We are so good at waiting for the right moment. But the right moment has a way of never quite arriving. Whatever it is — the phone call, the apology, the word of love long overdue — today is as good a day as any. 

Prayer: O God of ages past, O God of years to come, we sit now in your presence giving thanks for all the time you have given us — time with family and friends, times of tears and laughter, times of hardship and of joy. Even as we look back, help us to appreciate all that is around us even now. May we make the most of the time we have today. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Many years ago, when Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show, he interviewed an eight-year-old boy who had rescued two friends from a coal mine near his hometown in West Virginia. As they talked, it became clear that the young boy was a Christian. At one point Johnny asked him whether he attended Sunday school. He said he did. So Johnny followed up: "What are you learning in Sunday school?"

"Last week our lesson was about when Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine."

The audience howled, but Johnny managed to keep a straight face. "And what did you learn from that story?"

The boy squirmed a little — it was apparent he hadn't thought about this. But then he lifted his face and said, "If you're going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus!"

So funny. But also so true.

That little boy stumbled onto something profound. It's not just weddings that are better with Jesus at the center — it's friendships, marriages, families, workplaces, neighborhoods. Wherever we bring his presence, there is the possibility of transformation. The question worth asking today is simply this: which relationship in your life most needs that invitation?

Prayer: God of hope, we invite you into our relationships again this day. Bind us closer to one another and closer to you. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Pastor Leonard Sweet once wrote about a typical Little League coach giving instructions to a young player. If you've ever played, you may remember that voice:

Elbows down. Bat back to your ear. Keep your eye on the ball. Swing!

Sweet makes this observation: "Some voices stay with us forever. What voices have spoken into your life? Can you still hear them? There are voices of encouragement that urge us to keep trying, keep working, keep doing what we know is right. There are also voices that accuse us of not being good enough, of being a failure, of not deserving anything better than what we're getting. The voices we listen to in our heart and soul can strengthen us or shatter us, push us forward or pull us down. The power of the voice we ultimately answer to can determine the destiny and direction of our life."

I hope you have some positive voices in your life. And I hope you are a positive voice for others. But most importantly, I hope you carve out time to listen to the still small voice of God.

That still small voice doesn't shout. It doesn't compete with the noise. It waits. And it speaks most clearly to those who have learned to get quiet enough to listen. In a world that is louder than ever, that kind of quiet is itself an act of faith.

Prayer: Loving God, we know that we need you at the heart and center of our lives. We need your guidance, your direction, and your love. Give us the discipline and grace to listen, and the heart to follow. Thank you for all the voices of love and encouragement in our lives — coaches, pastors, teachers, parents, friends — past and present. May our voices too give grace to all who hear. Amen.

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The book of Hebrews tells us that by faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to leave his homeland. Remember, he was in his eighties when he and Sarah first set out. They left not knowing exactly where they were going — only that God was nudging them, prompting them, calling them forward.

This pattern of being called and sent runs all through scripture. We are called to step out in faith. We are called to do the next right thing. We are called to follow Christ — and we don't always know where that journey will take us.

I think about a time when I lived outside the country. At the end of my first week, I asked a neighbor when the trash pickup would happen. Seems like a fair question, right? He looked at me like I was crazy. "Nobody here is coming to pick up your garbage." He took the bag right out of my hand, walked it over to the edge of a ravine, wound up, and flung it over. I looked down and there was trash everywhere. My heart just hurt. Later he informed me that I could burn the paper. The chickens would eat the food scraps. "But the plastic," he said, "you're on your own."

Over time I also learned to do laundry by hand. I became pretty adept at water conservation because we so frequently had none. And I taught students who often didn't have enough to eat. My eyes were opened to the hunger and poverty of the world in ways I had never experienced. I didn't think about it this way at the time, but I was on a pilgrimage — one that opened my heart to human suffering.

We often think of calling in terms of vocation, and in one sense it can be. But over the course of a lifetime there are many callings, many journeys, many pilgrimages on which to embark. And plenty of them are more spiritual than physical. Perhaps you are being called to go to a deeper place in your faith. Or to heal something that has hardened or been wounded within you. Or to engage the world in some new way — to grow, to serve, to give in response to what God has placed on your heart.

I didn't know what that time living abroad would do to me. I only knew I was supposed to go. Looking back, it was one of the most formative pilgrimages of my life — not because of where it took me geographically, but because of where it took me inside. That is often how it is with God's callings. You think you're going somewhere. And you are. But the deeper journey is always within.

The question worth sitting with today is simply this: where is God nudging you? It may be toward a person, a practice, a conversation you've been avoiding, or a wound that needs tending. Whatever it is — be open. The God who called Abraham and Sara is still calling.

Prayer: We thank you, O God, for your calling on our lives. Grant us dreams and longings that are in harmony with your dreams and longings for us. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

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