God-with-us

Thursday in the Fifth Week of Lent

O Lord, I am not proud;
I have no haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters,
or with things that are too hard for me.
But I still my soul and make it quiet,
like a child upon its mother’s breast;
my soul is quieted within me.
Psalm 131:1-3

In this geography, it seems even simple things are complicated. And with each new challenge come new obstacles. The enemy who lurks alongside me in this desert tempts me with my own abilities. I can do this. And this. And this.

But the truth is I cannot. It is pride that leads me into a culvert where I am in trouble and alone. All of this is too hard for me; it is too hard for any of us. And it is impossibly hard if I go it alone.

“Why are you trying to do that on your own,” my friend gently chides me, “you could have called me.” And she is right. My call first and foremost is to walk with God. With. And when I remember this, I am able to see who else is with me. A young girl who sent a homemade card of encouragement. A friend who texts me unprompted with a solution to a problem I had been carrying. A colleague who offers expertise. And always Emmanuel, God-with-us, holy infant, vulnerable and nevertheless the savior of the world.