A Prayer During Change by Rachel Sanders
Recently, the Fellows community here in Nashville has gone through a lot of change. Our beloved Fellows Director, Theresa Wilson and her family, are moving to Louisville, KY. We have a new Interim Director, Lorianne Merritt, who has been absolutely wonderful and so caring towards us. We just started the second half of the year, and most of the Fellows are trying to figure out what the next step will be once the program is finished. We are constantly learning new things and thinking broadly about how our personal relationship with Christ affects our work environment, our friendships, and the way we intersect our faith into all aspects of our lives. It has been a lot to process in the past few months. We have learned so much about ourselves and how we can use that to love and serve others well.
The last blog post I wrote was about developing spiritual disciplines and habits to strengthen our relationship with the Lord, while also truly desiring to practice these disciplines. As I reflected on the last few months and on the many changes we have experienced, I wanted to do something a little different for my blog post this time. I wanted to write a prayer. I thought a prayer would be appropriate.
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24
Heavenly Father, you give us the belief we need. Indeed, you seek us even when we aren’t running toward you. We, like the father in this passage in Mark, want you to grant us the ability to believe. Even when we don’t have the strength to do so ourselves, you meet us.
With this season of change within the Fellows community, we pray that you will give us confidence in what the future will bring. We can already clearly see your faithfulness with our new Director, Lorianne. She has been so welcoming, engaged and truly overflows with knowledge about you. Your hand is directly in this change and we are so thankful for that. She will be a blessing to our class and we pray that we might also be able to bless her.
We pray for the Wilson family, that they will continue to see your steadfast presence with this move. Prepare the congregation of St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church to worship and live alongside Clint, Theresa, and James. We pray that they will feel welcomed, and that they will find community in their new home. We thank you for all they have done for the Fellows Program. They deeply love you, and that love has been felt by the many classes they have touched.
As a class, we have recently been studying how we are the beloved while also becoming the beloved. We are chosen. We are blessed. We are broken. We are given. We are becoming the beloved. I pray that we truly begin to know we are chosen and experience the joy of knowing our chosenness. You sent Jesus even when your people were unworthy. You have given your grace to sinners – those that have earned nothing. You meet our needs. We have earned nothing, but you still choose us. Help us to see more of you as we are becoming the beloved.
May we seek you first. May we begin to create time when we can listen to you and focus not on what we want to say but on what you say to us. Thank you for always meeting us, and may you restore our love for you daily, Jesus. Thank you for the daily blessings you give us. May we begin to open our eyes to the many beauties of your world. Again, I pray “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”
In your gracious name. Amen.
