Today at church, the minister called for the servers to come forward to prepare communion for the congregation. Often these moments of ceremony are formal, even sombre in tone — the last remnants of ritual in our modern services.

Today, however, two young boys surprised us all by standing up to "volunteer". They laughed and pushed each other playfully, making their way up to the front of the church along with the four designated servers. An awkward silence fell over the congregation. We expected the minister to gently turn the children away, asking them to sit back down until it was the congregation's turn to come up and take communion. But she didn't do that. She smiled widely and briefly looked up, acknowledging the Spirit in the moment. The congregation released our breath in nervous laughter and small gasps of recognition.

The minister held a basket of bread out to each of the boys and directed them to stand beside the servers holding the cups of wine and juice. The other official server stood behind each boy, slipping seamlessly into a mentor role, guiding the children as they took part in this holy service by offering the bread to the parishioners.

"The body of Christ is broken for you," the young boy said to me and held up the basket. We made eye contact, and he grinned widely at me. His innocent smile reminded me that there is joy in the seriousness of communion and that this is a gift from my Lord. I felt joy and gratitude. I smiled back and thanked the child.

When I got back to my seat, I watched as the elder standing behind the boy who had served me, bent and whispered in his ear. I couldn't hear her words, but I could imagine what she was saying, teaching him gently about the communion table, about the gifts that he was offering, about the words that he was saying in invitation to each member of the congregation he served, or about this sacred tradition, weaving him into the experience.

Some of us learn by hearing, some by reading, and all of us by doing. I am proud of the leaders in my church who recognized a teachable moment this morning for those two boys, and gave them an experience that they may never forget. I hope that the children learned a little about Jesus and holy communion today. But I am certain that they learned, in a deep way, about God's all-encompassing love. They were not only told but shown that they have a role in our church, this Sunday and always.

Jesus chastised His disciples who tried to turn away the children who were seeking Him. But on this Sunday morning, Jesus was undoubtedly pleased to see those elders draw the children closer and stoop to teach them about His love and His church, and to see us, the parishioners who "knew what we were doing" having a new experience of this holy tradition, as we saw it through the eyes of these young children.

May the Lord grant us the fresh eyes of childlike faith as we view accustomed experiences and meet familiar people this week!

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the opportunities that You entrust to us, each day, to show Your love and compassion to those around us. Keep us flexible, so that we can recognize and respond to opportunities when they arrive, even when they aren't when or how we expect them to appear. Thank You for the refreshment of new perspectives. Help us to become ever more sensitive to the gentle call of Your Holy Spirit as we move through our day. Keep us ever childlike as we grow in our faith. Amen.

In Jesus' time, menstruation and gynecological issues made women unclean. Leprosy made anyone afflicted unclean. Being of a certain race or from a certain place, such as Samaria, led to one being relegated to second class, compared to a Jewish person.

Being unclean meant not having the same respect or rights that full members of society would be entitled to. Being second-class meant that a person could not even come into the temple or have a direct relationship with God.

Today, when I read this story of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and was healed when she reached out and touched the hem of Jesus' garment as He walked by, I can relate to the woman who felt marked and ashamed by her situation. I, too, have felt that way. I am divorced. I am overweight. I regularly fall short of what God would have me be. Though I have felt "on the outside", I also know that unlike the lepers in Jesus' time, it has been a temporary state. In fact, I am privileged to be of a group accepted by our mainstream society. My race, my religion, and my education afford me acceptance and respect in our culture. Even more, though, my situation is temporary because of God's mercy and forgiveness, which allow me back into His inner sanctum.

Your situation is different than mine, but I am certain that you have had your own times of feeling unclean, times when you, too, felt marked by your shame and unacceptability. Hopefully, there have also been times when you felt joy at being healed by Jesus and accepted back "home".

This story makes me ask: Are there still people whom we treat as unclean today? Do we have outcasts here in this time and place? Do they know of God's mercy and forgiveness offered to all of us?

In Canada, all people have the same basic legal rights and privileges, which is different from Jesus' time. But culturally, our society continues to put roadblocks in the way for some people. Race, gender, sexuality, weight, poverty, able-bodiedness, and addiction still divide people into who is acceptable and who is not. Those roadblocks often exist within our Christian institutions and communities as well as in society at large. We may not say it overtly — we may not even be aware that we are saying it at all — but in many subtle ways, we still communicate to people that they are "unclean" and that they should keep their distance, even from our churches.

I challenge us to remember those times when we felt like the unclean woman, when our choices or our situation made us outcasts in our society, even perhaps in our church. We need to carry this understanding with us, when we meet those who are in the middle of those feelings now. We also need to be actively looking for those people who are being excluded and to talk them about the healing that Christ has brought to us. Inside or outside of the church, everyone needs to be welcomed with kind acceptance into that healing. Everyone needs to be reassured that God loves them. Everyone needs to know that there is a place waiting for them in God's family.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank You that in Christ, we belong to You and that nothing we do and nothing we feel can separate us from Your love. Reveal to us those who are feeling far from You. Give us courage, through the Holy Spirit, to reach out to them, especially when it means breaking out of our comfort zones. We trust that when You lead us to share, You will also equip us with what we need, to do what You ask of us. We align ourselves with Your will and surrender ourselves to Your use. Amen.

But other goals — morning devotions, daily prayer, writing daily, even healthy food choices — have been neglected. "It seems to take all my energy to do just one of the things that I really want to do!" I lamented to a friend. As I said those words, the following verse came to mind:

Matthew 6:24 – No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (NIV)

Does that mean that I'm off the hook for dealing with all but one bad habit at a time, since God tells me here that I can't expect myself to focus on two things at once? No! But it does mean that I need to ask myself who or what I am serving with my goals and to make sure that my relationship with God is my main focus.

I know that God wants me to live a healthy life and to have a healthy physical body, a temple for Him, so that I can serve Him more fully. But when I really look at why I've been able to get out to exercise every day, I'm embarrassed to admit that it's not God but vanity that's got me out the door — vanity and an app on my phone that gives me free reward points for the number of steps that I take each day.

I've created a second master, another master which has taken priority and pulled me away from my relationship with God. I haven't reached the point where I despise God, like today's Scripture describes, but I have certainly been neglecting Him by not doing the things daily that build our relationship. As I focused on health first, I have been walking further and further from God.

"What would happen if I placed God back as my Priority One?" I asked myself. I meditated upon that this morning as I walked, instead of listening to a podcast or music. So, each day, I turn my walk and my day back over to God, to fill and to use as He sees fit. All my goals, including my health goals, need to be motivated by being the best person that I can be to serve God to the best of my ability.

So, in our daily walk, let's ask God to help us to set all our goals, health or otherwise, with His purpose for our lives at the centre of each.

Prayer: Dear God, we confess that we get distracted by this world and by our own ideas and goals, and allow You to get bumped to second place. You are the only Master that we want to serve. Show us the other masters that we've allowed into our lives, and give us the strength to put You back into Priority One in our lives. Amen.

My feet are the key to my ability to walk, to go where I want to go, even to hold me upright. They work hard — arguably harder than most other parts of my body. On a good day, I barely even notice them. When all is going well, I don't pay them a lot of attention.

My feet have been feeling tight lately — not sore, but I notice them at the end of the day and when I first get out of bed in the morning. The skin is getting thick and rough, cracking at the heels — summer sandal feet. I notice this when I'm drying my feet. But when I walk out of the bathroom, already distracted by my day ahead, I have already forgotten about my feet again.

I sometimes treat God like I treat my feet. On a good day, or even an ordinary day, I take Him for granted. He'll be there; He always is. He'll carry me through; He always does. Most mornings and most evenings, I notice Him, maybe even spend a little time with Him. But often, I am not aware of Him in the day until something draws my attention to Him. God is the foundation of my life; without Him, I could not stand. Even as I know this, I neglect to do what would make my relationship with Him stronger. I let myself get distracted by life, pulled away from giving attention and worship to Him, just as I neglect to care for my feet, the foundation of my physical body, the essential elements in letting me walk, quite literally, in this world.

It is easy to take for granted what is dependable, and nothing in life is as dependable as our God. Let us spend some time today noticing God, where He is faithful and present — and under-recognized — and thank Him for His constancy.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we are quick to turn to You when we are hurt or in need. But when all is going well, we take the firm foundation of Your faithfulness for granted. We love You, Lord, and we thank You for being dependable, for never failing, and for always being present. Help us to remember what a gift that is, even on ordinary days. Amen.

I have been through a difficult season in my life, and I am on the other side of it. Life is healthier and happier, and definitely saner! But I find myself still "stuck" — no longer in the old way, but not yet on a new path. I pray, asking God for direction, and I get angry at Him, and myself, that I am still in "limbo". Inert. Not moving forward.

I came across Nehemiah's story during a lectio divina exercise. Nehemiah faced three difficult challenges: first, to leave the king and go to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:4-5); second, to continue to build the walls of Jerusalem despite opposition (Nehemiah 4:7-15); and third, to address the peoples threatened by Jerusalem's new power symbolized by the intact wall (Nehemiah 6:5-9).

Each time when Nehemiah faced a challenge, he first prayed, and then, he moved! Nehemiah had faith that if he were seeking God's will, God would guide him and protect him as he moved forward. Nehemiah trusted that God would correct him, and bring his steps into alignment with God's will.

Unlike Nehemiah, I have been standing still, afraid to take a next step without knowing exactly where God wanted me to stick my foot, afraid to make another mistake. I was praying, asking for God's guidance. But I was also waiting for that lightning bolt or thunderclap, that external voice saying, "Yes, go this way." I have been doubting my own ability to hear God. I was failing to trust in God's sovereignty, depending upon myself to hear, and not upon His ability to make Himself heard.

I thought about the GPS device in my car. I plot my route, and a lovely voice tells me the next step. The voice doesn't tell me the whole journey at once, just one step at a time. The voice doesn't tell me much of anything if I sit still in my driveway. The next instruction will not come until I am moving forward. If I make a mistake, and turn left instead of right, the GPS corrects me.

Bravery is taking action despite feeling afraid. Faith in God's goodness and sovereignty means taking a step forward without always waiting for the rainbow or voice from heaven. Nehemiah's story reminds me that when I feel stuck, I need to pray, seeking God's guidance, and then, I need to move, trusting Him to lead me and to correct me if I am off His path.

Prayer: Dear Lord, You alone know the path that You have laid out for each of us. We align ourselves with Your will for our lives. Nurture in each of us the faith to rely on You fully as we move forward, and the bravery to take a step forward when the path is not yet clear to us. Amen.

Exodus 16:14-15 – When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. (NIV)

As I sit in a village in rural India during the last leg of my ten-month Training In Mission program (Council for World Mission), Paul's words to the Philippians gain a new depth for me. Every need is felt more intensely here, as I am out of my comfort zone. I am dependent upon strangers to provide the most basic of things: food, shelter, safety. I am dependent upon God who acts through these strangers to meet my needs.

The diet is very different here in Andhra Pradesh — a lot of rice, a lot of spice, but very little fruit. I was struggling with this, and I asked God for help. That very morning, a young woman offered to share some small green fruit with me. They were funny-looking — like hard green golf balls, and they smelled funny — like perfume. "Um, what are they?" I asked, already forgetting my prayer request. She only knew the Tamil name which didn't mean anything to me. "Um, no thank you," I said, "I don't think I like them."

A few days later, during my morning devotion time, I was reading the passage in Exodus where the Israelites turn to God to feed them. He sends manna each morning, but at first, they didn't recognize these funny-looking flakes as the answer to their hungry prayers. Like a light bulb going on, I realized that God had been quick to answer my prayer, but, like the Israelites in the desert, I had been slow to realize His bounty, because it came in an unexpected way. "Forgive me, Lord," I prayed, "I didn't recognize Your hand. I know all that I have is from You. Open my eyes, Lord, to all the goodness You've poured into my life here. I depend on You, Lord."

The fruit was long gone, accepted by others who were less sceptical. Yet, the next day, a small village girl offered me one of these strange green fruits which she had just picked from a nearby tree. I enthusiastically accepted her gift. She beamed with pride, pointing to me and telling everyone that I was eating her fruit." I smiled as I discovered that I do in fact like this strange fruit, which in English we call guava. I prayed the following prayer for myself and others:

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for not giving up on us when we fail to see Your hand at work. Thank You for Your forgiveness, for second chances. Thank You for Your provisions of all shapes and sizes. Amen.

Luke 9:24 – For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. (NKJV)

I received a beautiful hyacinth this year for Valentine's Day. The purple blossoms came quickly, and gave me immense joy, whenever I caught a glimpse of them, or a waft of their perfume. But, as spring blooms do, the flowers, all too soon, faded and drooped. I set the pot down in a cool place, away from the sun, to let the plant die out, ready to be replanted next spring.

But spring re-sprung much earlier than I expected!

Out of the drying leaves of one of the flowers, a tender new stalk and new buds are now emerging! How sweet is the fragrance of my unexpected blossom! As I enjoy these new flowers, I see the work of God the Gardener, who cuts away unfruitful branches, so that others may see the sun, and produce new, sweeter fruits.

God is pruning right now in my life, as He may be in yours as well. Painful as this can feel at times, we can be comforted by the knowledge that we too will bear new fruit, fruit of the Spirit. In such times of pruning, we need to open ourselves to the free movement of the Holy Spirit in all our branches. We need to recognize the new buds He grows in us, and to rejoice in those tender, unexpected, and sweet flowers that He brings to bloom in us. While our blossoms seem unexpected to us, they are all part of His plan for our lives.

Prayer: Lord, help us to open ourselves to the pruning of dead wood that You are doing in our lives today. Help us to let go of these things, which keep us far from You, and do not serve Your purposes. Our hope is in You, Lord, and our strength is in the joy You've promised. Amen.