Betsy felt the fatigue through her entire body. She interrupted her hike to rest beside a willow tree. The breeze caused the meadow’s tall grass and wild flowers to move in a seamless, flowing motion. The power of God’s creation and purpose re-energized her to continue on the trail.
In our Baptism, God’s Holy Spirit empowers us. We are given the strength to do something different, to live in a new way. Our faith grows when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. We can let our love and support flow to the family living in poverty, the AIDS patient seeking treatment, and the woman who finds herself in a violent relationship. We can let the Holy Spirit flow through our hearts into the lives of others.
How has God’s grace touched your life? How has it overflowed from you to others?
This message is adapted from a stewardship devotion written by Mary Ingram Zertner for Women of the ELCA in 1998.