Tended

Psalm 23 is a familiar passage for many. It is a reminder that we are tended by the Great Shepherd. What does it look like to allow ourselves to be tended? To be led and restored. To know we do not walk through darkness alone, but that God is always with us? Let yourself be tended this week so that you may tend to others as well. 

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Welcome to season four of Faith in the Cracks. I'm Pastor Karen Wright. Life has cracks, moments between activities, places where we feel fractured. This is the space where we listen for God in the ordinary moments of life, where we are reminded that just as cracks let things in, it's a space for light and love to shine through. So just like plants grow in the cracks of a sidewalk, let faith grow in the cracks of our lives, trusting that God is at work within us. Episode 14. Tended. I wonder if you've ever noticed how often we typically say, Oh, I'm fine, even when we're exhausted. We carry responsibility, worry, grief, expectations, sometimes all of it at once. And when someone offers to help, we often respond, thanks, but I got it, even when we don't. It's a cultural script that many of us have learned. A culture that says, be independent and self-sufficient, be productive, don't be a burden. Strength is counted in self-sufficiency. But Psalm 23, a familiar verse for many, offers a different version. The Lord is my shepherd, not a manager, not a taskmaster, a shepherd, one who tends to the needs of the sheep. It has verbs like lead, restore, guide. God is not distant. In this psalm, God is active and attentive, God is present. And what does it mean for us to allow ourselves to be tended, to rest, to receive care, to admit we are tired. He makes me lie down in green pastures. That always struck me as a very peaceful image, and I now wonder if it's about God needing to help us slow down. You see, the shepherd invites us beside the still waters, not the chaotic ones, a place where our souls can ri can breathe and relax. And the Psalm as it continues says, even though I walk through the darkest valley, which is a reminder that life is going to have difficulty. Being tended by the shepherd, there are still problems and trials. It's not that the valleys disappear, but that God walks with us. Sometimes we let our fears take over, and we find ourselves alone in grief and in uncertainty. And it's a reminder that the shepherd walks with us. And the other thing I like is though I walk through, we don't get stuck there. We don't have to carry it all by ourselves, for the shepherd is with us and we are moving forward. And we were never meant to live untended. Whether personally intended by God, the great shepherd, or in Acts 2, we see the early church becoming a community that tends to one another. And church at its best tends to one another, offering a place of still waters, a place where people can breathe and rest, a place to belong, to practice presence, to share burdens, to become a community where grace is a tangible thing. So we need to allow ourselves to be tended by God so that we learn how to tend to others. And it's not about having it all together. It's admitting that sometimes we need help. It's sometimes just sitting next to someone, not solving things. And it's in those kind of moments we discover that grace and mercy indeed have been following us. So I invite you to let yourself be tended. Pause. Breathe. Let yourself be led beside the still waters. Let the shepherd tend to you and find a community where others will tend to you and you to them. So no one walks alone. Until next time. Thanks for listening. New podcasts are released every Monday. If you like the show, share it with a friend, or scroll to the bottom of the episode description and support the show for the cost of a cup of coffee once a month. You can also check out my webpage at faithinthecracks.com. As you go through your week, remember you are a child of God and you are love. May God seep into the cracks and bring forth new life.