I wonder if you have shared this experience: I will be totally twisted in knots about how to handle something at the end of the day. Then, when I wake up, the right approach will be crystal clear.

This is not an accident. Tomorrow, you will receive the usual invitation to participate in our virtual worship. The offering this week must not be missed. In the sermon time, your Call Committee members will share about the spiritual growth they experienced during their service. They will share that a key element producing such growth was collective commitment to build in pauses, to refrain from presenting quick counter-arguments and instead listen deeply to each other.

Sleep is how God assures that we will pause and listen. It allows God to insist on our deep listening, since the conscious mind and mouth are temporarily disabled. As proclaimed in the Psalm that is part of today's Daily Office readings:

"I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; *
my heart teaches me, night after night." Psalm 16:7

Is an issue or person in your life causing your stress? Have you lost sleep over it? Tonight, try something different. As you lie down, and your mind starts to spin, borrow from Mary and say a prayer of thanksgiving:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, who will counsel my heart and lead me by the power of the Spirt. Come, Holy Spirt, Come, and bring me your peace.

Pastor Kathleen Kelly,  
Interim Rector  
 
Not everyone falls asleep with a head full of worries.
47535 State Hwy. 74
Palm Desert, CA 92260
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