ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 26, 2026
I’m old! Barry Manilow came on the 70s station, and I knew every word to the song. Though why is it that I could remember every single word of the song, but when I went to the grocery store the other day to grab just four items, I walked out with six items, but two of the original four items were not among the six. Ugh! Someone recently posted on social media that he had created a to-do list, including spending 10 minutes in prayer. He left his to-do list at home, and didn’t look at it until the following day. He had completed every task on the list, except for prayer. In his words, “I forgot the one that should have been the easiest and probably would have provided the greatest benefit.” I believe most of us have the best intentions, but we can sometimes let ourselves down. Choosing to be hard on ourselves is probably not the answer, especially because additional stress and feelings of failure can impact the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which handles focus and working memory. Show yourself a little grace today because it is exactly what God is showing you.
Lord God, you are gracious beyond measure, yet we often fail to extend the same grace to others or even to ourselves. While we can learn from our past mistakes, dwelling on them won’t be beneficial for our future. Teach us your way of grace. Amen.
