Providence Presbyterian Church - Powdersville SC

“Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe and able to give.”

As we approach the time in our church year designated towards stewardship, we often think of fear – will there be enough money, will there be any visitors, will there be…and the list goes on and on. We cannot approach our lives in fear of what there might not be – but from the fact that God is in control and has His hand on not just Providence, but each person who walks through these doors and the community that surrounds us.

“Sometimes, during my early-morning meditation, a place within me opens and parts of myself let go that I did not even know were holding on.

In these moments I feel all the hard parts in my heart and body yield to a great softness carried on my breath…”

Thursday of last week I was going to Columbia and passed a man on the road with car issues. It was hot; he was on the interstate, and out of gas. Do you ever feel like that….not just in your automobile, but in your life? It is when we get to this point of life that God gives us an injection of a miracle drug…a drug called grace. Grace is the fuel that keeps our souls humming and running, doing the things we need to, even in the midst of turmoil and problems, rebellious children, mean-spirited people and sometimes just plain life…

“O Lord, in Whom is our hope, remove far from us, we pray Thee, empty hopes and presumptuous confidence. Make our hearts so right with Thy most holy and loving heart, that hoping in Thee we may do good; until that day when faith and hope shall be abolished by sight and possession, and love shall be all in all.”
− Christina G. Rossetti

In our Sunday School class, we are studying “The Power of a Praying Parent.” This book deals with the prayers we offer daily for our children – some of minor issues and some of major issues and problems that they are facing. At first I thought, “Well, our children are grown and we have grandchildren….am I right for this class?” Well, I certainly needed this class, because a child is a child, regardless of their age, and when they become adults, they give you grandchildren and the prayers of today are even more intense for our youth.

“We know there is some connection between prayer and silence,

but if we think about silence in our lives, it seems that it

isn’t always peaceful – silence can also be frightening…” 

                Have you ever noticed the difference between nights?  There are times when the sky is literally filled with stars and the moon shines so brightly, you can see all around you.  Then there are the nights when it is dark and cloudy, and not a light shines anywhere.  Just as there are two kinds of nights, so are there two kinds of silence.