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Psalm 43:3-6

Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me,* and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling;

That I may go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy and gladness; * and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God.

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *
and why are you so disquieted within me?

Put your trust in God; * for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Right now I think we all need to be led. We ask for the Lord to shine his light and lead us but sometimes we are not as good about following that light. We think that maybe our way is better and stray from the path that is put before us. I sometimes look at what is ahead and think that there is no way that this could be the right way. That is when my soul gets heavy and I figure out that I went the wrong way. The pandemic has done a lot of damage as far as knowing which way to go and who to believe. It seems that everyone has their own idea of what is right and what is wrong. The health professionals agree on most things but have their own opinions as well and that makes it confusing for us. We have to have faith that God will direct us to the right decisions and be ready to listen when he does.

This is where trust comes in. We need to put our trust in the Lord and let him guide us in the right direction. Not only in the decisions with the virus but with our everyday life as well. The old WWJD saying comes to mind. What would Jesus do? He was many times put to the test but each time relied on his Heavenly Father to lead him. That is hard for us to do but it is important for us to follow his light. It all comes down to trust. Faith is built on trust.

Isaiah 60.19-22

The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, or your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever. They are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands, so that I might be glorified. The least of them shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will accomplish it quickly.

When I think of the sun and the moon and the celestial bodies in the sky, I think of fixed points of reference. Sailors have and continue to use these constant flames as beacons when traveling the vast and disorienting oceans. Mankind would hardly have dared take to the open sea without some way of charting their course and their return voyage.

Yet even the sun and stars can be obscured by the weather. Storms can overtake a ship in minutes, blotting out the sky and leaving seafarers tossed by the waves, blown off course and fighting for their lives.

I can't count how many time I have felt that way in my life. Tossed by the waves. Blown off course. Fighting for my life. Often it didn't take much of a storm. This year has been tumultuous to say the least. A global pandemic. Friends and family becoming ill. Economic insecurities. Political clashes and cultural changes. The unsurety in the things I take for granted.

Fixed points of reference were being obscured.

But deeper ones remain. Watching my daughter grow up and the constant look of joy and wonder on her face reminds me of how much beauty there is in the world. Sharing this amazing and frightening journey with Kim as we grow older (and hopefully wiser). Reaching out to friends I hadn't spoken to in years (although often just through emails and social media). Enjoying the brief moments of interaction outside with neighbors or watching people greet one another from across the street. I am reminded of how important we are to one another. How dependent we are to each other's well being.

That is how "God's glory" is manifested in my experience. Through every interaction with every person (no matter the distance), as they shine light into my life and I endeavor to shine light back just like the moon and the stars.

Jeremiah 33.14-16

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

The days are short and keep getting shorter. I am far from home and what I consider to be “my life”; I’m upstate with elderly parents who are recuperating but also insisting they can do everything themselves. I wonder daily is this my life? What am I up here for; am I really helping?

And there is advent. A time to recall the promise made by God to his people, a promise of hope and restoration, a promise of safety, and a promise of justice and righteousness.

So on days where all of the dislocation and tumult feels so overwhelming, the message of advent strikes me as a call. Have faith that God has moved me to be right where I need to be. Pray, meditate, listen - there is hope even in this hour, this moment, this breath. God’s promise is coming, stay awake, stay present and know that promise is being fulfilled.