Restorative Giving
You may know that American author Flannery O’Connor was a sincere Christian. Even though her writings are not classified as religious works, they are deeply spiritual. You may not know that in her mid-twenties, she was stricken with Lupus, a terrible disease that attacks the joints. This severely restricted her movement, and she died young at the age of 39.
At one point, O’Connor’s aunt encouraged her to travel to Lourdes, France, to take a healing bath in the waters of the famous shrine there. O’Connor agreed to go, but only reluctantly. She wrote, “About the Lourdes business, I am going as a pilgrim, not a patient … I am one of those people who could die for his religion easier than I could take a bath for it.”
O’Connor understood that while miracles occasionally happen, they are not among God’s promises to us. While I am sure she would like to have been healed, in her own life, she found that her faith was about more than just receiving.
Sometimes we pray for miracles in our own lives, and I never want to count out that possibility. With God all things are possible. However, the witness of people of faith over the centuries is this: Even in the midst of our own struggles, there is something restorative about giving and serving others. When we get outside of our own heads and focus on something other than ourselves, at a minimum, our spirits are lifted.
I don’t know what you might be going through in your own life, but today I pray that God’s grace would uphold you. And, in giving to others, however, that might look, may you find new strength and courage and even joy.
Our prayer today has been handed down to us over many centuries. It was written by Thomas a Kempis in the 1400s. Let us pray: Write your blessed name, O Lord, upon my heart, there to remain so indelibly engraved, that no prosperity, no adversity, shall ever move me from your love. Be to me a strong tower of defense, a comforter in tribulation, a deliverer in distress, a very present help in trouble, and a guide to heaven through the many temptations and dangers of this life. Amen.
Daily Message Author: Joe Albright
Joe began his ministry in Sarasota, Florida as an associate pastor, and it was in this capacity that he worked alongside the Reverend Dr. Roger Kunkel. Roger was a colleague who became a mentor and treasured friend. From Sarasota, Joe was called to Jacksonville, Florida where he served as the Head of Staff at Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church. Currently, Joe and his family worship and serve at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Switzerland, Florida. Full Bio
