August 10, 2025 • 30 mins
Wings of Power and Protection, with Rev. Dr. Steven Koski. Series: Beloved. Belonging. Delightful. A Spacious Christianity, First Presbyterian Church of Bend, Oregon. Scripture: Ruth 1-4.
Feeling weighed down by grief, stress, or change? Join us this Sunday—online or in-person—for a message about how we carry life’s burdens with grace, hope, and each other. You’re not alone. Come be reminded.
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At First Presbyterian, you will meet people at many different places theologically and spiritually. And we love it that way. We want to be a place where our diversity brings us together and where conversation takes us all deeper in our understanding of God.
We call this kind of faith “Spacious Christianity.” We don’t ask anyone to sign creeds or statements of belief. The life of faith is about a way of being in the world and a faith that shows itself in love.
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Keywords:
grief, loss, resilience, hope, faith, companionship, Ruth, Naomi, sacred story, healing, presence, lament, turning, love, suffering, journey, honesty, scripture, support, emotional healing, sacred companionship, transformation, pain, spiritual growth, trust, God’s presence, redemption, sacred grief, shared burdens, community, comfort, presbyterian, church, online worship, bend, oregon
Featuring:
Rev. Dr. Steven Koski, Rev. Sharon Edwards, Becca Ellis, Brave of Heart, Guests
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Whitney Higdon (00:20):
You. Welcome to worship At First Presbyterian
we, at First Presbyterian,practice a spacious
(00:48):
Christianity, which means nomatter where you are in your
faith journey, you belong andthere is space for you at the
(01:24):
table, there is space for yourdoubts and questions. We believe
doubts and questions are a giftthat invite us into deeper
(02:01):
conversations and a moreauthentic faith. We believe
diversity is a strength. Everystory is sacred and everybody
(02:36):
matters. We do our best to livethe spacious and radical love of
Jesus so that all might have achance to flourish in this
(03:13):
world. We are so glad to connectwith you in this way. We would
also love to worship with you inperson if you're ever in the
(03:52):
neighborhood on Sunday morningsat 830, or 10am and never
hesitate to reach out to us tolearn more about us or how we
(04:28):
might support You. I hope youenjoy this worship service.
Welcome you.
Sharon Edwards (05:00):
God, Wings of power and protection, Ruth,
chapters one through four, Ruthlooked around and found no one
(05:24):
to help behind her, just theworn and familiar road back to
her homeland before her, theunknown road to Naomi's
homeland. Naomi, her mother inlaw, said to her, go back to
your people and your gods, Ihave nothing to offer you, but
Ruth was a woman of power andprotection, belonging burned
(05:48):
bright in her, and she would notleave her mother in law. Enough
of that. Don't ask me to turnaway from you. I belong with
you, and you belong with me.
Your people are my people, andyour God is my God. I promise to
stay with you no matter what.
But Naomi just shook her head asthey set off down the road
(06:11):
before them, when they arrivedin Naomi's Old Village, her
former neighbors and friendscrowded around in shock. What a
joke to call me Naomi, that namemeans delight, and as you can
see, I have none. And she toldabout the death of her husband
and her sons. When I left you, Iwas full, but God made me empty.
(06:35):
No husband, no sons, in ourworld, that leaves me helpless.
God has left me alone. You'renot alone. I'm right here. Ruth
thought sadly as she stoodbeside Naomi and stared back at
the curious crowd. They didn'tlike people from Moab, and it
(06:56):
showed in the gawks and thewhispers, foreigner, outsider,
helpless. But the next morning,Ruth woke with determination.
She went to the fields outsidethe town in search of food,
belonging and blessing, and shefound them in the field of Boaz,
a man of power and protection,Boaz still remembered God's
(07:18):
ways. He remembered to leave thecorners of his fields
unharvested, so that they wouldbe available to the hungry and
the helpless. I am hungry, buthere is help, and I can be a
helper. Ruth thought and Shetoiled all day gathering grain
at the corners of Boaz field.
Boaz arrived at the fieldsbooming blessings to his workers
(07:40):
and friends, and he spokekindness and welcome to Ruth.
Why are you being so kind to me?
You know I'm an outsider, right?
Boaz paused and then simplysaid, I've heard about the
kindness you've shown Naomi, herpeople are now your people and
her God is your God? Then Boazboomed a blessing. May you find
(08:05):
blessing and comfort under God'swings. Ruth arrived home that
evening with her arms full ofgrain and her heart was full of
promise, hearing her story.
Naomi told Ruth Boaz is a closerelative of mine. We are two
women alone in the world, but hecould help us belong again.
(08:29):
Weeks upon weeks, weeks, Ruthreturned to Boaz field and would
arrive home in evening withgifts. Boaz did not want you to
be empty, and neither do I.
You're not empty, you're nothelpless, you're not alone.
Sometimes, the true andbeautiful words we speak to
others helps them to believe thetrue and beautiful words God has
(08:51):
for them. Later, Ruth and Boazwould marry, and they built a
home together, Ruth Naomi andBoaz, a place of belonging where
God's ways were cherished andkept and their children and
their children's children boomedblessing to others and spread
their wings of comfort andshelter.
Steven (09:16):
The poet Mary Oliver carrying the weight of grief
after the death of her belovedpartner of over 40 years. Wrote,
it's not the weight you carry,but how you carry it. I mean,
every single one of us iscarrying the weight of grief in
some way, and the weight of theworld right now feels
(09:37):
overwhelming in so many ways.
It's not the weight, but how wecarry it. I mean, how can we
learn to carry the weight, theweight of whatever grief, loss,
stress, trauma we're carrying?
How can we learn to carry thatweight with grace, resilience we
(09:59):
just. Heard a beautiful storyabout Ruth and Naomi that might
actually help us carry theweight of our grief in a
different way. Let me offer alittle bit of background. The
story begins with Naomi, who'smarried to Elimelech, and they
live in Bethlehem. There's asevere drought and famine so So
(10:21):
Naomi and Elimelech are forcedto move across the river to Moab
which is modern day Jordan. Theyhave two sons, Killian and
Milan. Now this is a Jewishfamily, but both sons marry
Moabites, Orpah and Ruth. NowMoabites were the despised enemy
(10:43):
of the Israelites, Naomi andElimelech, they welcomed, they
welcomed Orpah and Ruth asfamily, even though they have a
different ethnicity and religionand they're actually supposed to
be the enemy, which really saysa lot about their character. And
(11:04):
just as things began begin tosettle, everything changes.
Everything changes in aninstant. Have you noticed life
is like that? The one thing thatis constant in life is change
and loss. Elimelech dies, thenboth sons die. I mean
(11:30):
incomprehensible tragedy,unspeakable grief. Naomi, this,
this Jewish woman and her twoMoabite daughter in laws are now
bound together in heartbreak andgrief, so Naomi decides to
return home, you know, hopingher extended family in Bethlehem
(11:52):
might might care for her. Shetries to convince her daughter
in laws to stay in Moab, knowingthey have a far better chance
with their own people in theirown land. Now, Orpah listens to
Naomi and she returns to herfamily. Ruth refuses to leave
(12:16):
Naomi, and she becomes Naomi'ssacred companion on the journey
through the shadows of grief.
Let me just read a few versesfrom chapter one of the book of
Ruth. Naomi said to Orpah andRuth, it is more bitter for me
than for you, because God's handhas turned against me at this.
(12:42):
They wept out loud together.
Then Orpah kissed her mother inlaw, goodbye, but Ruth clung to
her look. Said, naobi, yoursister in law is going back to
(13:03):
her people and her Gods go backwith her. Ruth replied, Don't,
don't urge me to leave you or toturn my back from you. Where you
go, I will go, where you stay? Iwill stay. Your people will be
(13:24):
my people, and your God will bemy god. Naomi realized Ruth was
determined to go with her, sothe two women went on together
until they came to Bethlehem.
You know, it's reallyinteresting that that the verb
turn is used repeatedlythroughout the book of Ruth,
(13:47):
almost as a writing device tokeep the movement of the story
going. So I wonder if the key tocarrying the weight, carrying
the weight of our own grief isto keep turning. There are
actually three turns, threeturns that we see in the story
(14:08):
that might help us carrywhatever weight, weight we're
carrying, maybe with a littlemore resilience and grace. The
first turn we notice is to turntowards our pain. Naomi says to
Orpah and Ruth, God's hand isturned against me, and then it
(14:34):
says the three of them wept. OutLoud. Now we live in a culture.
We live in a culture that wantsto turn away from pain, that
wants to deny our pain, minimizeour pain, numb our pain, that
wants to project our pain ontoothers, that always wants us to
(14:56):
pretend, you know, have.
Everything's okay. Ancientwisdom says the path to healing
is to turn toward your pain.
Move closer, lean into yourpain. Richard Rohr reminds us
that if we don't find a way toto face and transform our pain.
(15:22):
We will just keep transmittingour pain to those around us, or
we will turn it againstourselves, or both. Think of
grief, grief, which we allexperience, grief is actually an
(15:43):
energy field that wants to movethrough us. You know, the way
that that a storm moves acrossthe summer sky. You know, not
just once, but in waves. Butgrief can't actually move unless
(16:04):
we give ourselves permission togrieve. Otherwise, grief likes,
likes to settle into our bonesand can actually cause us to
sink into despair. Sometimes,sometimes, the healing begins
(16:25):
when we turn toward our pain,when we give ourselves
permission for the tears toflow. Healing begins with
honesty. You know, a healthyspirituality is actually a
really honest spirituality.
(16:53):
Where are the spaces where youcan be brutally honest? Naomi
turned toward her pain andhonestly expressed her sense of
forsakenness, and Ruth Orpahwept aloud with her, which
(17:21):
brings me to the second turningin the story. You know, the
turning that can help us carrythe weight of our grief, and
that is turned toward oneanother. You know, initially,
Naomi tries to convince Orpahand Ruth to leave her. We do
(17:45):
that. Have you noticed we dothat? Sometimes, in our grief,
in our pain and our suffering,we turn away. We try to convince
ourselves, and we try toconvince others. You know, we're
okay. We don't need anyone,friends, no one, no one can do
(18:09):
this journey called life alone.
We need each other. Asking forhelp is not weakness. It's
actually a desire to be strong.
Our strength is actually foundin each other. Perhaps the most
(18:32):
beautiful words in the entireBible are spoken by Ruth to
Naomi, where you go, I will go,the book of Ruth. Is the first
book of the Bible where Goddoesn't actually speak. God
(18:56):
doesn't actually show up in theentire book. I think this is
because the book of Ruth isletting us know that God's
presenceshows up through our presence
when we show up when we becomesacred companions to one another
(19:22):
on the journey. The weight ofthe grief that we carry is is
lessened when we don't have tocarry that weight alone. We
(19:45):
carry the weight of our griefwith resilience and grace when
we toward, turn toward our pain,when we turn toward one another,
(20:08):
and finally, when we turn towardhope. You know, I often tell
people who experience. Is asignificant loss or or trauma
(20:31):
that you will never get over it,and you shouldn't get over it as
if, as if loss is something toget over, like a bad case of the
(20:55):
flu, the losses we experience,the pain we experience, are
actually part of our sacredstory, and will always be part
(21:17):
of our sacred story. But ourfaith tells us it's not the
whole story or the end of thestory. The book of Ruth starts
(21:39):
in tragedy, unspeakable tragedyand grief. Naomi and Ruth turn
towards their pain. They carrythe weight of their grief
(22:03):
together. The book ends withRuth a Moabite marrying a Jewish
man named Boaz. They have a sonwhose name is Obed. Naomi finds
(22:25):
healing for her grief in being agrandmother Obed, marries and
has a son whose name is Jesse.
(22:49):
Jesse marries and has a sonwhose name is David. David
becomes a king, that means Ruth.
Ruth became the greatgrandmother of King David. That
(23:09):
means Ruth, who carried theweight of tragedy and grief with
Naomi, was the many times greatgrandmother of another child of
(23:33):
Bethlehem, whose name was Jesus.
Just when you think the griefyou carry is the whole story,
(23:56):
the end of the story, turn thepage. Turn toward hope, turn
towards one another, grabsomeone's hand, keep walking
(24:17):
through the valley of theshadows. Just keep walking. Just
keep walking. Because you justdon't know where the road will
(24:40):
lead. It's not the weight, it'show you carry it, and as we
carry our grief togetherFriends, there is a love that
(25:02):
carries us. And I offer thisprayer, holy one, the weight we
carry in this life, at times canfeel absolutely overwhelming as
(25:25):
we take a moment to turn towardsour pain, remind us that we're
not alone. Remind us that we arewe are never alone. As we give
(25:49):
ourselves permission for tearsto flow. Remind us that our
tears are sacred, and you weepwith us as we turn towards the
(26:12):
pain and suffering in thisworld. Remind us there is a
light that no amount ofsuffering can extinguish. Help
(26:32):
us to know how we can turntoward one another, to be the
presence of Love where it'sneeded the most, even now show
(26:54):
us, show us ways, how we canshow up, show up for one
another, helping one anothercarry life's weight, and even
(27:15):
when things feel bleak, turn ourface toward hope. Remind us that
love wins. Love always wins, andif love isn't winning, it just
(27:39):
means the story isn't over, andas we carry life's weight
together. Together remind usthere's always a love that
(28:01):
carries us. Amen.
Friends, remember it's not theweight, but how you carry it.
And remember, there is a love.
There is a love that is alwayscarrying you go into peace and
the love of Christ, and may youshow up for others in such a way
(28:28):
that it might bring a littlepeace to them. Amen.
Whitney Higdon (28:37):
Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope
you enjoyed this worshipservice, if you would like to
make a donation helping makethese broadcasts possible or
support the many ways, first,Presbyterian seeks to serve our
community, you can make afinancial gift online@bendfp.org
every week, we hear from someonethanking us for the gift of
(28:58):
these broadcasts and What adifference they make your
support makes that possible. Ourchurch is committed to reach
beyond our walls, bringing hopewhere there is despair and love
where it is needed the most.
Your generous support helps usto be generous in love. Go to
our website, bend fp.org, andclick on the link. Give online.
Your support is reallyappreciated and makes a
(29:21):
difference in people's lives.
Thanks again. I hope to see younext week. You
You. Welcome to worship At First Presbyterian
we, at First Presbyterian,practice a spacious
(00:48):
Christianity, which means nomatter where you are in your
faith journey, you belong andthere is space for you at the
(01:24):
table, there is space for yourdoubts and questions. We believe
doubts and questions are a giftthat invite us into deeper
(02:01):
conversations and a moreauthentic faith. We believe
diversity is a strength. Everystory is sacred and everybody
(02:36):
matters. We do our best to livethe spacious and radical love of
Jesus so that all might have achance to flourish in this
(03:13):
world. We are so glad to connectwith you in this way. We would
also love to worship with you inperson if you're ever in the
(03:52):
neighborhood on Sunday morningsat 830, or 10am and never
hesitate to reach out to us tolearn more about us or how we
(04:28):
might support You. I hope youenjoy this worship service.
Welcome you.
Sharon Edwards (05:00):
God, Wings of power and protection, Ruth,
chapters one through four, Ruthlooked around and found no one
(05:24):
to help behind her, just theworn and familiar road back to
her homeland before her, theunknown road to Naomi's
homeland. Naomi, her mother inlaw, said to her, go back to
your people and your gods, Ihave nothing to offer you, but
Ruth was a woman of power andprotection, belonging burned
(05:48):
bright in her, and she would notleave her mother in law. Enough
of that. Don't ask me to turnaway from you. I belong with
you, and you belong with me.
Your people are my people, andyour God is my God. I promise to
stay with you no matter what.
But Naomi just shook her head asthey set off down the road
(06:11):
before them, when they arrivedin Naomi's Old Village, her
former neighbors and friendscrowded around in shock. What a
joke to call me Naomi, that namemeans delight, and as you can
see, I have none. And she toldabout the death of her husband
and her sons. When I left you, Iwas full, but God made me empty.
(06:35):
No husband, no sons, in ourworld, that leaves me helpless.
God has left me alone. You'renot alone. I'm right here. Ruth
thought sadly as she stoodbeside Naomi and stared back at
the curious crowd. They didn'tlike people from Moab, and it
(06:56):
showed in the gawks and thewhispers, foreigner, outsider,
helpless. But the next morning,Ruth woke with determination.
She went to the fields outsidethe town in search of food,
belonging and blessing, and shefound them in the field of Boaz,
a man of power and protection,Boaz still remembered God's
(07:18):
ways. He remembered to leave thecorners of his fields
unharvested, so that they wouldbe available to the hungry and
the helpless. I am hungry, buthere is help, and I can be a
helper. Ruth thought and Shetoiled all day gathering grain
at the corners of Boaz field.
Boaz arrived at the fieldsbooming blessings to his workers
(07:40):
and friends, and he spokekindness and welcome to Ruth.
Why are you being so kind to me?
You know I'm an outsider, right?
Boaz paused and then simplysaid, I've heard about the
kindness you've shown Naomi, herpeople are now your people and
her God is your God? Then Boazboomed a blessing. May you find
(08:05):
blessing and comfort under God'swings. Ruth arrived home that
evening with her arms full ofgrain and her heart was full of
promise, hearing her story.
Naomi told Ruth Boaz is a closerelative of mine. We are two
women alone in the world, but hecould help us belong again.
(08:29):
Weeks upon weeks, weeks, Ruthreturned to Boaz field and would
arrive home in evening withgifts. Boaz did not want you to
be empty, and neither do I.
You're not empty, you're nothelpless, you're not alone.
Sometimes, the true andbeautiful words we speak to
others helps them to believe thetrue and beautiful words God has
(08:51):
for them. Later, Ruth and Boazwould marry, and they built a
home together, Ruth Naomi andBoaz, a place of belonging where
God's ways were cherished andkept and their children and
their children's children boomedblessing to others and spread
their wings of comfort andshelter.
Steven (09:16):
The poet Mary Oliver carrying the weight of grief
after the death of her belovedpartner of over 40 years. Wrote,
it's not the weight you carry,but how you carry it. I mean,
every single one of us iscarrying the weight of grief in
some way, and the weight of theworld right now feels
(09:37):
overwhelming in so many ways.
It's not the weight, but how wecarry it. I mean, how can we
learn to carry the weight, theweight of whatever grief, loss,
stress, trauma we're carrying?
How can we learn to carry thatweight with grace, resilience we
(09:59):
just. Heard a beautiful storyabout Ruth and Naomi that might
actually help us carry theweight of our grief in a
different way. Let me offer alittle bit of background. The
story begins with Naomi, who'smarried to Elimelech, and they
live in Bethlehem. There's asevere drought and famine so So
(10:21):
Naomi and Elimelech are forcedto move across the river to Moab
which is modern day Jordan. Theyhave two sons, Killian and
Milan. Now this is a Jewishfamily, but both sons marry
Moabites, Orpah and Ruth. NowMoabites were the despised enemy
(10:43):
of the Israelites, Naomi andElimelech, they welcomed, they
welcomed Orpah and Ruth asfamily, even though they have a
different ethnicity and religionand they're actually supposed to
be the enemy, which really saysa lot about their character. And
(11:04):
just as things began begin tosettle, everything changes.
Everything changes in aninstant. Have you noticed life
is like that? The one thing thatis constant in life is change
and loss. Elimelech dies, thenboth sons die. I mean
(11:30):
incomprehensible tragedy,unspeakable grief. Naomi, this,
this Jewish woman and her twoMoabite daughter in laws are now
bound together in heartbreak andgrief, so Naomi decides to
return home, you know, hopingher extended family in Bethlehem
(11:52):
might might care for her. Shetries to convince her daughter
in laws to stay in Moab, knowingthey have a far better chance
with their own people in theirown land. Now, Orpah listens to
Naomi and she returns to herfamily. Ruth refuses to leave
(12:16):
Naomi, and she becomes Naomi'ssacred companion on the journey
through the shadows of grief.
Let me just read a few versesfrom chapter one of the book of
Ruth. Naomi said to Orpah andRuth, it is more bitter for me
than for you, because God's handhas turned against me at this.
(12:42):
They wept out loud together.
Then Orpah kissed her mother inlaw, goodbye, but Ruth clung to
her look. Said, naobi, yoursister in law is going back to
(13:03):
her people and her Gods go backwith her. Ruth replied, Don't,
don't urge me to leave you or toturn my back from you. Where you
go, I will go, where you stay? Iwill stay. Your people will be
(13:24):
my people, and your God will bemy god. Naomi realized Ruth was
determined to go with her, sothe two women went on together
until they came to Bethlehem.
You know, it's reallyinteresting that that the verb
turn is used repeatedlythroughout the book of Ruth,
(13:47):
almost as a writing device tokeep the movement of the story
going. So I wonder if the key tocarrying the weight, carrying
the weight of our own grief isto keep turning. There are
actually three turns, threeturns that we see in the story
(14:08):
that might help us carrywhatever weight, weight we're
carrying, maybe with a littlemore resilience and grace. The
first turn we notice is to turntowards our pain. Naomi says to
Orpah and Ruth, God's hand isturned against me, and then it
(14:34):
says the three of them wept. OutLoud. Now we live in a culture.
We live in a culture that wantsto turn away from pain, that
wants to deny our pain, minimizeour pain, numb our pain, that
wants to project our pain ontoothers, that always wants us to
(14:56):
pretend, you know, have.
Everything's okay. Ancientwisdom says the path to healing
is to turn toward your pain.
Move closer, lean into yourpain. Richard Rohr reminds us
that if we don't find a way toto face and transform our pain.
(15:22):
We will just keep transmittingour pain to those around us, or
we will turn it againstourselves, or both. Think of
grief, grief, which we allexperience, grief is actually an
(15:43):
energy field that wants to movethrough us. You know, the way
that that a storm moves acrossthe summer sky. You know, not
just once, but in waves. Butgrief can't actually move unless
(16:04):
we give ourselves permission togrieve. Otherwise, grief likes,
likes to settle into our bonesand can actually cause us to
sink into despair. Sometimes,sometimes, the healing begins
(16:25):
when we turn toward our pain,when we give ourselves
permission for the tears toflow. Healing begins with
honesty. You know, a healthyspirituality is actually a
really honest spirituality.
(16:53):
Where are the spaces where youcan be brutally honest? Naomi
turned toward her pain andhonestly expressed her sense of
forsakenness, and Ruth Orpahwept aloud with her, which
(17:21):
brings me to the second turningin the story. You know, the
turning that can help us carrythe weight of our grief, and
that is turned toward oneanother. You know, initially,
Naomi tries to convince Orpahand Ruth to leave her. We do
(17:45):
that. Have you noticed we dothat? Sometimes, in our grief,
in our pain and our suffering,we turn away. We try to convince
ourselves, and we try toconvince others. You know, we're
okay. We don't need anyone,friends, no one, no one can do
(18:09):
this journey called life alone.
We need each other. Asking forhelp is not weakness. It's
actually a desire to be strong.
Our strength is actually foundin each other. Perhaps the most
(18:32):
beautiful words in the entireBible are spoken by Ruth to
Naomi, where you go, I will go,the book of Ruth. Is the first
book of the Bible where Goddoesn't actually speak. God
(18:56):
doesn't actually show up in theentire book. I think this is
because the book of Ruth isletting us know that God's
presenceshows up through our presence
when we show up when we becomesacred companions to one another
(19:22):
on the journey. The weight ofthe grief that we carry is is
lessened when we don't have tocarry that weight alone. We
(19:45):
carry the weight of our griefwith resilience and grace when
we toward, turn toward our pain,when we turn toward one another,
(20:08):
and finally, when we turn towardhope. You know, I often tell
people who experience. Is asignificant loss or or trauma
(20:31):
that you will never get over it,and you shouldn't get over it as
if, as if loss is something toget over, like a bad case of the
(20:55):
flu, the losses we experience,the pain we experience, are
actually part of our sacredstory, and will always be part
(21:17):
of our sacred story. But ourfaith tells us it's not the
whole story or the end of thestory. The book of Ruth starts
(21:39):
in tragedy, unspeakable tragedyand grief. Naomi and Ruth turn
towards their pain. They carrythe weight of their grief
(22:03):
together. The book ends withRuth a Moabite marrying a Jewish
man named Boaz. They have a sonwhose name is Obed. Naomi finds
(22:25):
healing for her grief in being agrandmother Obed, marries and
has a son whose name is Jesse.
(22:49):
Jesse marries and has a sonwhose name is David. David
becomes a king, that means Ruth.
Ruth became the greatgrandmother of King David. That
(23:09):
means Ruth, who carried theweight of tragedy and grief with
Naomi, was the many times greatgrandmother of another child of
(23:33):
Bethlehem, whose name was Jesus.
Just when you think the griefyou carry is the whole story,
(23:56):
the end of the story, turn thepage. Turn toward hope, turn
towards one another, grabsomeone's hand, keep walking
(24:17):
through the valley of theshadows. Just keep walking. Just
keep walking. Because you justdon't know where the road will
(24:40):
lead. It's not the weight, it'show you carry it, and as we
carry our grief togetherFriends, there is a love that
(25:02):
carries us. And I offer thisprayer, holy one, the weight we
carry in this life, at times canfeel absolutely overwhelming as
(25:25):
we take a moment to turn towardsour pain, remind us that we're
not alone. Remind us that we arewe are never alone. As we give
(25:49):
ourselves permission for tearsto flow. Remind us that our
tears are sacred, and you weepwith us as we turn towards the
(26:12):
pain and suffering in thisworld. Remind us there is a
light that no amount ofsuffering can extinguish. Help
(26:32):
us to know how we can turntoward one another, to be the
presence of Love where it'sneeded the most, even now show
(26:54):
us, show us ways, how we canshow up, show up for one
another, helping one anothercarry life's weight, and even
(27:15):
when things feel bleak, turn ourface toward hope. Remind us that
love wins. Love always wins, andif love isn't winning, it just
(27:39):
means the story isn't over, andas we carry life's weight
together. Together remind usthere's always a love that
(28:01):
carries us. Amen.
Friends, remember it's not theweight, but how you carry it.
And remember, there is a love.
There is a love that is alwayscarrying you go into peace and
the love of Christ, and may youshow up for others in such a way
(28:28):
that it might bring a littlepeace to them. Amen.
Whitney Higdon (28:37):
Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope
you enjoyed this worshipservice, if you would like to
make a donation helping makethese broadcasts possible or
support the many ways, first,Presbyterian seeks to serve our
community, you can make afinancial gift online@bendfp.org
every week, we hear from someonethanking us for the gift of
(28:58):
these broadcasts and What adifference they make your
support makes that possible. Ourchurch is committed to reach
beyond our walls, bringing hopewhere there is despair and love
where it is needed the most.
Your generous support helps usto be generous in love. Go to
our website, bend fp.org, andclick on the link. Give online.
Your support is reallyappreciated and makes a
(29:21):
difference in people's lives.
Thanks again. I hope to see younext week. You
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