Heaven knows no difference between Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoon. God Longs to speak as clearly in the workplace or school as he does in the sanctuary. He longs to be worshiped when we sit at the dinner table and not just when we come to his communion table. You may go days without thinking of Him, but there’s never a moment when he’s not thinking of you!

Why? that seems to be a question we ask ourselves a lot these days. Why is there war? Why is there pain and suffering? Why did so many people have to die in Haiti? This is probably the most difficult question to answer for most of us. It would seem that God is no where to be found in our suffering. Yet, I say he is even closer to us. God is merciful and forgiving. He does not punish us for our sins, he forgives us of them. God doesn’t sit idly by and let bad things happen to us. Suffering happens every day, because that is the human condition, and the world in which we live. Grace happens every day. God comes to us in the storm, and wants to hold onto to us tightly. God never abandons us. However, sometimes we don’t recognize this and choose to abandon Him. We blame God for our suffering instead of embracing Him in order to seek comfort. The quote in my title are the words uttered by Jesus Christ as he hung on the cross. Some people think that Jesus, just like us, felt abandoned and alone during His suffering. What some people don’t realize is he was actually quoting Psalm 22. You should read the whole Psalm, because it is actually filled with hope. The Psalm goes on to say “For He has not spurned nor disdained the wretched man in his misery. Nor did He turn his face away from him, but when he cried out to Him, He heard him”

I know how difficult it is for most us us to not question why? I even think it’s ok to question, but please know that God is there for us during these times of suffering. He will carry us through our pain if we let him into our hearts.

The secret to loving is living loved. Sometimes we are guilty of forgetting to tell each other that they are loved. We tell them to love, be patient, kind and forgiving..Instructing people to love is like telling them to write a check without making a deposit into their accounts. No wonder so many relationships are overdrawn. Hearts have insufficient love.

I was thinking about this today, and how it relates to my journey..So, Jesus knocks, and God willing, I answer the call. Here I am walking along the road with Jesus, everything is awesome, then all of a sudden..WHAM! A distraction, a detour. I think, oh I can go this one alone Lord. You stay right here, and I’ll be back in a jiffy. Well, the problem is I am human, I stumble and lose my way and when I leave that state of grace, there’s only one ‘way’ back. Only one way back to the crossroads where Jesus waits for me, where I left him. I believe that ‘way’ is through forgiveness. Two of the things Jesus tried to teach us while he was here on earth were love and forgiveness. He showed us these lessons many times, so that we would learn them. One of my favorite stories of forgiveness is the one of the Prodigal Son. “My Son was lost, but now he’s found.”

I sometimes forget the ‘way’ home. That ‘way’ is not always about asking God for forgiveness because I’ve sinned, more often than not it’s about me seeking forgiveness from others, and many times forgiving myself…