Thursday of the fifth week in lent

​Date: Thursday, March 21
Contributor: Cassidy Wegwerth
Lectionary Link https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/ThursFifthWeek.html
 
In Genesis 17: 1-8 we are reminded of how putting trust in God might be scary at times, but if we are open with our faith in God we will be rewarded.  This is shown as Abraham, who at 99 years old is told by God to leave his homeland and put his trust in God, and settle somewhere new.  At his age, it could have been a daunting and terrifying task to leave his home and start over on new land and set up a community for his descendants, but he trusted that God would provide for him, and he was indeed rewarded for this trust and faith. This level of faith is inspiring and something that I, if I’m being honest, struggle with at times.
 
As some people know, I lost my mother very unexpectedly and tragically in 2019.  In 2022, I also unexpectedly lost my mother-in-law to a very rare reaction to her chemotherapy medication.  Both of my mothers went to church and believed in God, especially my mother-in-law, whose faith was one of her defining characteristics. 
 
During the sermons at both their funerals there was, of course, the mentioning of how they were no longer in pain and most importantly they had now returned home to God.  At the time, I had a lot of anger about the latter statement.  I didn’t want them to be in pain anymore, but I wasn’t ready for them to be taken from me.  This anger, confusion, and sadness caused me to give up on my nightly prayers.  Each night while lying in bed I would go through and name my blessings followed up with the hopes that I had for loved ones and people in my community.  After my mom died, and without really realizing it, I stopped going through part of these prayers.  I would say what I was thankful for, but then just kind of stop.  I had lost my trust that God would take care of things, so I stopped asking for protection or support.
 
When my mother-in-law passed, I nervously waited to see how my father-in-law would react to losing his soulmate.  While I had stopped fully trusting God, he continued to lean into the comfort brought to him by his faith.  The way he has shown his dedication to God, even through such an unfair time, has helped me find my way back to my nightly prayers.  I realize now that it can be scary to put all my faith in God, especially knowing that bad things will continue to happen, but it can be comforting to know that even through the bad (or scary) things we face in life, a strong faith in God can help bring peace and stability.