A Full Copy of March 17th Thursday Thoughts Can Be Found HERE
Dear Congregation:
During the Season of Lent, I will share one of the poems included in our worship materials, “Full to the Brim.” It is the hope of our Worship Design Team that this layering of art, poetry, and the language of prayer will enhance your faith journey in these weeks ahead.
This week’s poem was especially poignant to me. The last line, “You are worthy even if you don’t produce,” is a haunting comment for those of us who see or believe our worth is in what we can do. The words brought back conversations I had with my father as he aged and was unable to do many of the things he liked to do. One of his questions in his older years was, “What is my purpose?”
I pray you are comforted by the poet’s words, “You are worthy.”
What I Forgot
Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree.
No fruit here, just soaking up the sun, growing roots, turning green, stretching out my branches until I can hug the horizon. Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree, because she doesn’t produce, and she’s not exhausted, and she probably gets eight hours of sleep at night. And her branches, unlike my shoulders, are not heavy with work– pulled toward the ground, threatening to break. And her trunk, unlike my spine, is not fighting to stand tall while holding it all together. Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree because she knows what I forgot many years ago. You are still worthy even if you don’t produce.(written by: rev. sarah speed | sanctifiedart.org)
The Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel
Senior Pastor Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ bkdaniel@erucc.org 15 W. Church Street, Frederick, MD 21702 301-662-2762