One Hope. Above all. Through all. In all.
Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness;
For we do not know how to pray as we ought,
But that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
Romans 8:26
Depression pulls down the blinds blocking out the light into one’s spirit; hovers overhead with a foreboding whirl; closes the walls around one’s heart and blocks out the presence of Abiding Love seeking to enter. It creeps into one’s soul as a thief in the night stealing inner peace, personal worthiness and joy leaving a grey melancholy echoing into the emptiness.
For weeks a current wave of depression tightly holds Marie within a quiet cocooned existence. Few know of her plight as she tries to keep this affliction secret, ashamed of living with an illness that never completely goes away and few people understand.
Friends tell her to “just buck up” with one exception. Nancy, a friend since childhood remains present as the depths of depression move in and out of Marie’s life.
When the weight of the dis-ease is at its worst, Nancy shows up each Friday afternoon with a bowl of Marie’s favorite – homemade mac and cheese. No conversation is expected as they sit silently together on the porch looking into the back yard, watching the birds, listening to Marie’s favorite music for more than an hour.
Her friend Nancy embodies the hope Marie cannot find on her own. Her persistent presence and gifts of her tasty food and loving kindness break through the fog, gently pushing the melancholy effecting Marie’s soul away from of the darkness reminding her that she is not alone.
Breathprayer:
Breathing in: Abiding Hope
Breathing out: … encourage our lives.
Reflection: Who brings hope to you?
This reflection is written for the Online Lenten Devotion of the southeast Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American.
www.seiasynod.org/lent