The Early Bird

... gets the worm. But how does the worm feel?

Yesterday, a beautiful blue jay swooped onto our walk.
I didn't see the worm, and it certainly didn't see the bird!

But there he was, flying off as a big juicy meal.

I thought of this as we did a chapel service at our nursing home.

For this new congregation, chapel services are a mobile way
to meet people where they are.

Drinks and shade on a hot day at the fair.
A morning prayer at the train station.
A weekly service at a thrift store.
A kind word at the park.

A burden shared is a burden lightened.
Whatever people need. Wherever they are.

Our motto is...If people don't come to church,
the church will come to the people.

(Church, of course, is the people, not a building or place!)
So we've got a few locations around the area for 'chapel.'

And as I led a prayer workshop at the nursing home,
I thought of this little, unfortunate worm.

It's like us. We can feel like a little worm.
Not just people strapped to a wheel chair in a nursing home,
but I meet people everyday who feel stressed out
and overwhelmed by the big world around them.

So, in this workshop, we talked about Jesus' on the cross.
He quoted Psalm 22 (reading a Psalm is a good way to pray!)
which says, "I'm a worm and no man."

It's the prayer that begins, 'My God, my God!
Why have you completely abandoned me?'

Jesus said this. Jesus was the little worm.
So, it's definitely ok for us to pray that way, too.

Sometimes people ask me, 'I never complain to God.
How can I pray when I'm mad or disappointed or hurt?'

I think they just did.

Just saying to God what you think and how your feel
is ALWAYS a good step in prayer.

But the second step in Psalm 22 that Jesus prayed
was a fascinating insight repeated nowhere else.

That 'God lives in our praises.'

Part of prayer is saying exactly what we think is going in,
and the other part is stating what we do know about God.

Recall some time in your life when God has helped you or someone you love.

Remember Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd)
or some othe verse you know that describes God
as being trustworthy, faithful, loving or strong.

It's not just like the worm saying, 'What a great view!'
as the bird whisks it away : )

The truth is, both parts of prayer give us peace.
Realizing we are not alone in our struggles.
That our pain is real... but God is more real.

A mountain climber sliced 5 of his 7 strands of his rope.
He was convinced he was about to fall and die
before his friends could get him another rope.

But as he prayed, reconciling himself to God
and to his death in a few seconds, he relaxed.

And by not panicking, his remaining strands were not cut
on the rock... and in two minutes, he was saved.

Even when your life is literally hanging by a thread,
it is always to early to give up and never too late to pray.

This is a great reminder that prayer is not only good
in a crisis... but as a great way to start every day!
Before the crisis begins!

And then, as they say, the early bird will indeed get the worm.