Dear God

For our Renovare homework this week, we were to write a brief letter to God, recalling the first time we sense God’s presence and some of the ways God has revealed Godself to us. This is a bit of what I wrote:

Dear God,

From my earliest memories you have been a part of my life. I remember in the third grade when the Celestial Choir was to sing in the worship service. Our seats were directly behind the Communion rail. As I looked up toward the altar, I was aware of a shimmering presence that I could only know as You. And you have always been there, even when I was in high school and felt like my prayers were only bouncing off the ceiling back at me. Even then I didn't doubt you. I just wasn't sure how to reach you, but over time I became aware that you were always there, especially when I didn’t “feel” like it.

Usually it was when I was looking back that I could sense your hand at work, guiding and protecting me. It's so hard to see it in the midst of the present moment, but I have come to trust your presence more and more. I know that's why the Israelites re-membered the story of the Exodus, moving out of slavery in Egypt through the wilderness, eventually to the Promised Land. They had to hear the story again and again, to learn that you were there with them, setting them free, leading them, providing for them. When we don't rehearse the stories, we forget. When we tell the stories, when we hear the stories again and again, they become engrained within us, a part of us--just as you have always been with us. That's why we tell the story of the Good News again and again. That's why we remember how you gave yourself for us as we celebrate the Holy Meal. Every time we tell the story, every time we taste the bread and drink the wine, you become even more a part of us.

And so I give you thanks for your love, for making and telling us the stories that draw us to you.

Your daughter,

Mochel