An Extra Mile by Sharon Garlough Brown

Author:Sharon Garlough Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sensible shoes;women;spiritual formation;spiritual friendship;friends;woman;Mara;Hannah;Charissa;Becca;womens ministry;spiritual direction;spiritual retreat;retreat ministry;mentor;friend;spiritual disciplines;spiritual practices;fiction
Publisher: InterVarsity Christian
Published: 2017-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Thursday, April 9

10 p.m.

I was worried that I would sit at Wayfarer tonight and lament the ways the Maundy Thursday service wasn’t like Westminster’s. Instead, I was able to enter into the beauty of what was offered, even as it was different from what I loved for fifteen years. Tonight’s service was another opportunity to be reoriented toward wonder and awe at the suffering of Jesus. “What wondrous love is this?” we sang together. What wondrous love, indeed. And when we sang the final verse, I wept. Because as we sang, I was reminded that beyond the veil, beloved voices also testify to the truth: “And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on, and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on; and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be, and through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on; and through eternity I’ll sing on.”

I’ve spent so much time the past couple of months thinking about death—not just physical death but all of the ways I’ve been invited to die—that maybe I’ve lost sight of life and resurrection. I know that grieving all of the losses in their full power has the capacity to enlarge me, not diminish me. And I do want to be enlarged, Lord. I want to experience the depth of suffering and sorrow so I can also experience the joy of resurrection and life. You are the Resurrection and the Life. Keep reminding me. None of my losses end in death but in life.

Something significant is shifting in my spirit. I perceive it, a move from desolation toward hope as I fix my eyes on the cross and meditate on your victory and love. Hineni, Lord. Here I am.

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