for a runaway teenager

"Imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God." Luke 15:8-10 (The Message)

When I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:4-6 (New Living Translation)

I don't know what this young woman is struggling with, this one who has disappeared into the streets of an unforgiving city. I don't know what things in her have been broken, or what she suffers. I only know that she does suffer.

I don't like thinking of her as "lost" particularly, as if she somehow wandered off course or was treated negligently and mislaid. Rather, she ran away. I expect there may be anger and resentment, and an unwillingness to continue under the conditions in which she found herself. Maybe she thought anything was better than that. Maybe anything was.

So I find myself seeking words with which to make my request, El Shaddai, all-sufficient one, on behalf of this young woman who is the niece of my friend. I know you seek her, but I don't know if, like a coin, she waits passively to be found. Nonetheless, be close beside her with your biggest, scariest-looking staff -- keep the dogs at bay, and give her your protection. Find a way to feed her, even in the midst of her enemies. I beg blessings on her behalf, blessings she never expects, blessings to bring her life and sanctuary. Pursue her with your relentless love, your unfailing compassion. Every day, love her.

job changes in the Kingdom of God

Again [Jesus] asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough." Luke 13:20-21 (NIV)

At first I didn't even know yeast was needed to make bread rise. Somehow I never heard, either growing up or in seminary, that the job of Jesus people was to "make disciples." I admit to some embarrassment here.

But once I started seeing your church as the yeast, I began work as your apprentice, searching for and bringing out the yeast so it could be used to make bread.

It wasn't so odd to discover some yeast that could not be used at all; the kitchen seemed to be overrun with it at first, and I fear I wasted a good bit of time paying attention to what amounted to dust rather than actually being helpful to you.

Rather, what surprised me was discovering that there was such a thing as reluctant yeast. Who would have thought I would spend so many years arguing with yeast? It sounds a bit crazy, and anyway it doesn't seem to fit the shape in which you made me.

Because you have brought me into your kitchen and taught me so much over the years, I feel like I am beginning to understand my next position with you a bit better. You never intended me to stay in the kitchen, did you?

You made me to find hungry people for you to feed.

It seems like the finest and most beautiful of all possible jobs I could have in your Kingdom. I offer you my profound and joyful thanks.

for a struggling Christian couple

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 (New International Version)

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32 (New International Version)

The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Luke 8:24-26 (New International Version)

I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 (New International Version)

Lord of Heaven and Earth, Wind and Sky: I bring before you this struggling young couple for whom my friend Shawn cares deeply. I don't know how broken their relationship is, but I know how hard it is to navigate when storms seem likely to overwhelm. Sometimes it's all we can do to keep the ship afloat. May this couple remember, even amid the thunder and waves, that you are Lord of All Creation, and that all things respond to your command. May they find plenty of community around them to help them bail out the water that threatens to sink their marriage. Let the past not defeat them, nor the present overwhelm them. Send your Light to guide and your Spirit to warm as you recall them to yourself.