Love as Dawn Draws Near- Tuesday, December 12th

WEEK TWO: LOVE AS DAWN DRAWS NEAR

The Glow of a Campfire

Psalm 9:1 (NRSV)

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

When I served as a youth director, I really enjoyed taking our students on summer camping trips. The weeks were great opportunities to truly get to know one another and learn to live together as a family of God. We would enjoy all of the activities that camping provides- swimming, rafting, volleyball, board games and learning sessions. At the end of our busy days we all looked forward to our campfire time. The group always began with the usual rowdiness as we made s’mores, sang, teased and laughed as the evening fell. But when quiet hours began, we would hush our voices, calm our souls, look at the stars, and become reflective.

This is when the story telling would begin. In sharing the stories of our lives- times of learning, times of fear, times of success, times of failure, times when God felt near and times when God felt far away- all who heard the stories could relate them to their own lives. These stories were precious and true, often inspirational and full of wisdom. In every story, God’s love was made known and shared with all who were gathered to hear.

God’s love is found in countless stories, and God’s love is revealed in our stories, too. We may not know all of the Bible stories or main characters. But we have stories of God’s work and love in our own lives. As we share our experiences of God’s love with others, we may help someone’s faith grow. We also find our own faith grows as we revisit these experiences in the telling of them.

God’s love glows while sharing our own stories of God’s love in our lives.