Do you ever feel stuck? You feel as if you cannot move. This feeling could be literal as in you are physically paralyzed or  could be metaphorical as in your thoughts are clouded or blocked. The feeling of stuck either way is very real and can be discouraging. Often when battling this situation depression sets in and begins to cause us to spiral into hopelessness. This is why the summer I spent as an intern at a rehabilitation center were all patients were receiving physical therapy for their physical disability spoke so profoundly to me spiritually. 

Life is ever changing. Change in essence is what it means to be living. I was working this week with my kindergarten aged son on a writing assignment where he had to describe a lifecycle. At every stage of the lifecycle regardless of which living creature we observed there were major changes to denote the next stage in the cycle. Internal growth was occurring as prevalently as the external growth we could see with our naked eyes. If change comes with growth and growth represents we are living why do we dread change so much? Where does this desire for stability come from?

In the Hispanic culture the elderly are well respected. Especially the matriarch! Her wisdom and way of life are passed down from generation to generation through stories, meal recipes, and special celebrations. As a child I saw my Abuela (grandmother) almost every day, which allowed for me to hear her stories and experience her cooking first hand. Slowly without me noticing I began to treasure and identify with the hardships my family endured to ensure the next generation like me lived a more opportunistic life. Although my Abuela had only made it to the eighth grade, her wisdom surpassed anything that could be contained to a text book and four walls of an institution. As I sit here writing today, I see her legacy and wisdom live on and transcend physical space and time, for it lives in me. 

One of the sweetest times in life is when you can connect with a friend. When you speak with a friend something magical happens. Your soul could be affirmed, challenged, encouraged, comforted, and so much more. Often you leave the conversation feeling heard and as if you received a blessing. One indication for me that I am speaking with a friend is that during the unspoken moments they know what I am thinking. This friend can finish my sentences, predict my thoughts at times, and challenge me with difficult conversations. Sometimes these friendships take time, years, to establish, but there are the rare occasions where it just simply happens.  

When I became a believer in Jesus Christ I had a preconception about prayer. Prayer I had misunderstood as either a method of dealing with crises or a way to delay making a decision. Not that prayer does not impact situations to the point of allowing God to intervene and make a way we did not see even possible. We have seen this in our observations of the Red Sea encounter. Yes, prayer does help you get clarity to make a decision so the statement "let me pray about it" in and of itself is not wrong. But is that it? Is that really why God created prayer?