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How Did the Rose?

How did the rose

ever open its heart

and give to this world all of its beauty?

It felt the encouragement of light against its being,

otherwise we all remain too frightened.  - Hafiz (14th c. Persian poet)

It’s a time of unrest and massive change in our world, our culture and communities, and the church in this pandemic. There’s a lot of anxiety and conflict. People are stressed to the max. You can see it in faces, on the roads, and how people treat each other. Sometimes in the midst of all the darkness and distraction, it’s hard to see the light.

The light of Christ can coax us out of the darkness of fear. It can open us and accompany us to bravely share God’s love with each other. One way to feel that encouragement of light is having a spiritual practice that we engage daily. This connects us with the light of Christ and love of God so they become the center of our lives which opens us up to share our faith. One of my favorites is the “Pray as You Go” app: https://pray-as-you-go.org/

One example of shining light in hard times is Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and Mary’s Song, “The Magnificat” in Luke 1.  This might have been a dark time in Mary’s unwed, pregnant life yet she bravely opened up to shine the light of Christ in faith. She visited Elizabeth who was a cherished family member and their friendship shined the love of God into the world.

We too can feel the encouragement of light in our faith relationships and friendships at Desert Cross. Jesus brings us together and helps us shine his light into other’s lives as we share our hearts of faith. We have a lot of light and love to share into places and lives needing beautiful encouragement. So shine on, Desert Cross! Pastor Andrea