Mammon thinks it rules. Money and the lust for it, and the power of it, sure seems to be king in our world. Listen to what is important news: “Elon Musk passed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos as richest man in the world last week. Musk’s net worth this week stood at $183.8 billion, $1.4 billion ahead of Bezos.” Makes you want to say “Alleluia” doesn’t it? Except in Lent, of course.

A life free from worry. To some of us, it sounds like Shangri-La: wonderful and impossible to find. But we aren’t doomed to be worry's prisoner. Read on if you would like to know “How do I stop worrying?” I am no stranger to this topic. Over the course of my life I have chewed my nails to stubs, bitten the skin around my nails, pulled out my eyelashes, and stress-eaten cheese, chocolate, and jellybeans. I have stayed awake countless nights, playing out different horrible scenarios. I have had panic attacks and crying jags. It’s not pretty to admit, but I have let worry take over my life. If someone had said to me in a time of intense worry, “I know the secret of how to stop worrying,” I would have laughed (bitterly) in his face.

"The way we live our lives is the way we live our days." I believe I heard that from author Annie Dillard. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her work, Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek and taught English at Wesleyan University in CT for 21 years. As I have pondered that line over the years, I like to add, “And the way we live our days is the way we live our moments.”

To the naked eye last night may have appeared to be teenagers using the Super Bowl as an excuse to hang out together – most prioritizing the commercials over the game itself. As one high school student put it, “It’s just looks like a middle school fight out there…”. Let me share with you what I saw instead last night…

Israel is a unique country in many ways, not the least of which is its small but varied geography, a veritable land bridge between Asia, Africa and Europe. If placed on a map of Florida, it would only stretch from Jacksonville in the north to below Melbourne in the south, the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the St. John’s River on the west. It is only 150 miles north to south, and 50 miles wide near Jerusalem. But while this part of Florida is mainly flat and sandy, Israel has all of the variety of California: snow covered mountains, desert regions below sea level, ocean beaches, fertile valleys, and wilderness areas. In fact, the geography of Israel is sometimes called the “fifth Gospel”.

“Unless I see the SCARS?” Over the years I have wondered about Jesus’ scars. It is one way he is known, isn’t it? It’s not the only way.

“Who said it?” I asked. My cousin and friend Claire responded to my text: I have no idea who said it. I saw it somewhere and thought, ‘I don’t know about this, let me think.' The opposite of fear isn't hope. Both fear and hope are stories we tell ourselves about the future. The opposite of fear is staying in the now.

From the time I was a small child, I went to church with my family each week. I participated in Sunday School, VBS, and plenty of other church activities. I learned about God the Father and Jesus His Son. I dutifully memorized scripture, knew the books of the Bible, and I watched my mother spill tears every Easter as the choir sang the stately old hymn, “He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose…” Even with all that Christian formation, I never really “got it.”

My grandparents owned a small service/gas station and motel in the Ozark mountains of Missouri. There was a small general store and their living quarters were a few rooms in the back. There was a lovely, warm kitchen that you could see into from the general store and there was always something cooking, the aroma enveloping you as you came into the front door of the station. There was a long counter with stools that twirled and that was where home cooked meals were served to weary travelers.

Anger. Hopeless. Trust. Despair. Hope. Confusion. Trust.  For most lament is rarely a straight path. It is a wandering towards God in the midst of pain.