Meditation

Read Exodus 13:3-5                                       —Psalm 136:1 (NRSV)

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

One July day at a plant nursery near my home, I noticed some bedraggled Lenten rose plants with no blooms and browning leaves on sale for half price. Unable to resist a bargain, I bought two and planted them under a dogwood tree. Each week I watered them but saw little improvement. When winter brought snow and ice, I feared they would not survive. Months passed, and on a rainy March morning I was preparing a Bible lesson about the Israelites’ escape from Egypt. As I pondered their wilderness hardships, my dog began barking at the back door. I opened it, and she leapt past me to chase a squirrel up my dogwood tree. I hurried to the tree to get her out of the rain. Nestled among the dead leaves on the ground, something lavender caught my eye. The unpromising roses had endured winter’s harsh weather and were blooming. The plants’ endurance brought me back to the Exodus story. The Israelites experienced many hardships during their journey, but God’s grace, love and forgiveness supported them through bitter days, and they survived to thrive in a new land. Like the Israelites, we experience difficult times. My roses remind me that endurance and survival are not always easy, but that the God who traveled with the Israelites also travels with us.

Prayer—Gracious God, help us remember that during difficult times you are still walking beside us. Amen.

Thought for the Day—God does not expect me to face hardships alone.

Jewel Deane Suddath (North Carolina)