Spiritual Preparation

This Ash Wednesday, Daniel and I attended service at Timothy amid the warm St. Louis day. The Psalm reading was Psalm 23 (Daniel’s favorite), a beautiful image of the Lord leading us peacefully through dark times. In it, God’s people are reminded that the Lord is not our advisor but our shepherd, and we His sheep. And sheep are not known to be the most intelligent of creatures. Our pastor mentioned how sometimes sheep can even get lost in their own pen. The imagery gives a valuable reminder of where we would be without Christ, lost in our own pen.

“The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23

As we prepare for our upcoming deployment to the field, we likewise prepare for Easter. There are forty-nine days until we deploy, and forty-five days until Easter. Within those days, we’ll continue to prepare physically: packing, language learning, visa prepping, etc. but also spiritually. Daniel has been leading us in Gospel readings, and I’ve been studying both Job and the early Psalms. My readings have mostly focused on the wicked and their evil deeds, or on Job pleading for his innocence despite his suffering. In these readings, Psalm 23 provides comfort to the reader. Despite the suffering, and despite the wicked, the Lord still provides us with our daily bread, leads us beside still waters, and watches over us.

Amid all the chaos of packing and the grief of saying goodbye, the Lord is with us. We know as the ashes are placed on our forehead, that from dust we came and to dust we shall return. In the end, Christ is our hope.

Salmos 23

El Señor es mi pastor;
nada me falta.
2 En verdes praderas me hace descansar,
a las aguas tranquilas me conduce,
3 me da nuevas fuerzas
y me lleva por caminos rectos,
haciendo honor a su nombre.

4 Aunque pase por el más oscuro de los valles,
no temeré peligro alguno,
porque tú, Señor, estás conmigo;
tu vara y tu bastón me inspiran confianza.

Me has preparado un banquete
ante los ojos de mis enemigos;
has vertido perfume en mi cabeza,
y has llenado mi copa a rebosar.
6 Tu bondad y tu amor me acompañan
a lo largo de mis días,
y en tu casa, oh Señor, por siempre viviré.

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Camp LuWiSoMo: Wild Rose, WI

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Living Word Lutheran High School: Jackson, WI

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(From left to right)
Peanut, Zuzu, Xing, Bible, Teedum, Paradox, and Ducky

Living Word Lutheran: Jackson, WI

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