Daily Lenten Offering

The Holy One is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God will not always accuse, nor will keep this anger for ever.

—Psalm 103:8-9

God, I have heard this before, that you are slow to anger… then how am I so quick? If you are this kind to me, why am I so hard on myself? Am I allowed to have compassion on myself, even when I fall short? Forgive me and set me back on the path of your better way. Amen.

At the end of January, Elmo innocently asked how we were doing. And people responded. A lot of folks are struggling. Axios recently reported that youth today are experiencing alarming rates of loneliness and anxiety. If you are feeling, as Bilbo once said, “stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread,” you are not alone. There are people praying for you. 

Reach out to your neighbor

Today, we invite you to send a hand-written note to someone, make a phone call, or however you can, check in to wonder how they’re doing.

Elmo asked people online how they were doing. He got an earful, CNN

The loneliest generation: Inside the Gen Z mental health crisis, Axios