Every day I get a variety of devotions and spiritual reflections. I appreciate their insights and the inspiration they provide. One of my favorite writers is Father Steven Charleston, retired Episcopal Bishop of Alaska and a member of the Choctaw Tribe in Oklahoma. 

Last month I read this reflection by Bishop Charleston which I thought was especially helpful. I have shared it with several of our elders when I visited called them. In this stressful time it speaks a true word—a word of comfort as well as challenge. I commend it to you for your own quiet time.

– Rolf Olson, Visitation Pastor

There is a spiritual name for what we have been going through over the last few months. Every religion has it in one form or another, but in general it is called a time of testing. It is not a punishment from heaven, but a time we have actually created for ourselves, a time when our ability to practice what we preach is stretched to the limit. Like a valley of dry bones we are faced with the realities of our own making. The test is to be faithful, to be true to what we believe, to be better than we thought we could be. The Spirit will be with us, but this is a moment we must confront, endure, and finally overcome ourselves. We must pass this test of faith not by strength alone, but by a patient trust in what we have always said we believed. We have had the training. Now we test how well it works.

(Bishop Steven Charleston, September 6, 2020)

Prayer

Lord God of all, it is tough. Give us strength to carry us through the days ahead, strength to live out the values we profess. It is truly a test. With your power we are confident to pass it. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen