Come As You Are
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18 NIV
If I’m really honest, I know that my husband and I are grieving some things at the moment. For the first time since moving, we are so aware that we are thousands of miles away from our beloved families. Unexpected visa delays added to the global pandemic mean that we know we’ll spend the next 12 months apart from our increasingly elderly parents. As much as we find huge joy in being here, it’s still more painful than I expected and for which I was prepared.
Many of you will know exactly this thing, or many similar things–griefs and struggles, pain and loss, broken-heartedness in its many forms. And, of course, all of this exacerbated because our normal consolations, such as being held by your family, the touch of someone in prayer or a meal with friends, are not often possible in these times.
Today, if you are in pain, please reach out in prayer to God. He is not too busy for you and He longs for you to come to Him and to draw near to you. Be honest with God about how it feels and how you are hurting. Be honest with Him about those who have hurt you. Come as you are; there is no other way. Don’t wait until you are ready, hurt a little less or are less disappointed.
When in pain, the most important thing to do is often difficult: to return to the arms of our loving Savior and to allow Him to draw near to us. In all your grief and loss, I pray that you will be able to do this today.
I leave you with these words from Damien Rice’s "Trusty and True." It was the song played when I presided at the Eucharist for the first time, it was the song to which I walked down the aisle on our wedding day and it is so often the words I bring to mind as I come to worship:
Come, come alone
Come with sorrows and songs
Come however you are
Just come, come along
Come, let yourself be wrong
Come however you are
Just come
The Rev. Jane P. Ferguson
Assistant for Liturgy, Outreach and Student Ministries
