Rekindle the Gift

One of the readings of today is from 2 Timothy 1: 1-7.  It contains these lines:


 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

So, there are several things I ponder this morning
1. I am grateful for the faith that was passed down to me from my parents.  Eventually both my mother and father served as elders in the Presbyterian Church in addition to being staunch choir members and sometimes Sunday school teachers.  I have a strong memory of sitting with my family in a pew every Sunday.  Their faith was not spoken about - merely lived and modeled for us all.  I still have my mother's Bible which has underlinings and notes in it from either daily devotions or times in her women's circle meetings.  It is a blessed heritage.

2. The call to "rekindle" our faith tells us that our faith can so easily become stale or cold or blah!  We don't all burn brightly all the time. It is also a reminder that the faith is within us - not "out there." I sometimes meditate and feel like I am approaching turbulent water that is my life and all the worries and anxieties that are just there.  However, if I wait long enough and go deep enough - like a deep sea diver slowly going under the surface I will find the center treasure where God's spirit calls to me.  There are so many particular and peculiar ways that people rekindle - prayer, meditation, music, reading, walking.  When Paul writes about the "laying on of my hands" I can't help but think of reiki.  I do feel that reiki helps to bring people peace and it can "rekindle the gift."

3. Finally I love this line - God gives us a spirit of power and of love and self discipline.  I need them all - particularly the self discipline.  Lent is a time for spiritual preparation and it often brings new disciplines.  One of mine this season has turned out to be spending time with these texts on a daily basis and allowing them to speak to me.  There usually is an image or a phrase that I can carry through the day and I seek to draw closer to God.

Today it is this call to "Rekindle the Gift."  Faith is such a gift that really needs to be revitalized daily. When my faith is renewed I have peace and hope even as I wonder who I am now and where I am going.  So my prayer for this day is to be alive, awake, attentive to God's presence and call upon me moment by moment on this holy day.

Here is a blessing

May you be made holy when you are experiencing boredom or monotony and are bothered by the sameness of the everyday.
At those times may God alert you to the tiny surprises, the smile of an infant, the concert sounds of nature, or the sweet taste of the perfect cup of tea.
In notiving these "God insertions" may you come to know an excitement for the everyday revelations of God's unbounded love.
May God REKINDLE the gift of faith within you.