No Ladder Needed
Claudia Schooler of Carlisle, IA, USA
It is imperative to understand that when you are truly baptized into Christ you become part of a new creation. By taking on the life and mind of Christ, you increasingly view yourselves and others from a changed perspective. Former ways of defining people by economic status, social class, sex, gender, or ethnicity no longer are primary. Through the gospel of Christ a new community of tolerance, reconciliation, unity in diversity, and love is being born as a visible sign of the coming reign of God. -Doctrine and Covenants 164:5
We have a little apple tree in our yard. I should say we have the remnant of what was once a bigger apple tree. A few summers ago, under the weight of a bountiful crop of Jonathan apples, the main fork of the trunk cracked and toppled over. There were sighs and even tears. I love that tree. It was a busy time so we didn’t attend to trimming out the fallen wood right away. A couple of weeks later I noticed that the leaves on the broken part of the tree were not withering. I looked closer at the trunk. The wood was broken and badly splintered but not all the way through. There was enough life-giving sap flowing through to keep the leaves alive. I wondered if maybe, just maybe the fruit could also stay alive and ripen for harvest. We left the toppled tree in the yard, and in late September joyfully picked buckets full of ripe, red apples, no ladder needed.
This has been a rough year. Many of our traditional ways of worshiping and “disciple-ing” have toppled over. But if we pause, we notice that not all has been lost. The life-giving sap of the gospel flows in new and different ways. Who knows what is ahead? We DO know we can abide in Christ, being and ever becoming more fruitful disciples.
Prayer Phrase
“Awake, my soul!” (Psalm 57:8)
Spiritual Practice
The Prayer of the Heart
Early Christian disciples desired to take seriously the scripture mandate to pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The prayer of the heart invites us to pray “continuously” by repeating and returning to a prayer phrase planted for intentional reflection and deepening. Choose a word or phrase (from scripture, hymnody, or personal reflection) that has meaning for you. The Jesus Prayer is one form of the prayer of the heart: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:35-43). Invite this simple phrase to repeat in your heart throughout the day, awakening your soul to God’s presence.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
