Heart's desire

Look upon the heart-felt desires of your humble servants, Almighty God, and stretch forth the right hand of your majesty to be our defense against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

This is a beautiful way to start out the third week in Lent, asking God to notice our heart-felt desires and to defend us against enemies, whatever they are. Of course we are asking in humility as we recognize the God whose might arm, whose right hand has in history brought God's people out of darkness, out of bondage, out of the water rising up to our necks.

Today might be a good day to think about what our heart-felt desires actually are as well as what enemies are keeping us from those heart-felt desires. I know for many of us, our desire is to gather with our families and friends and actually touch them - hug, laugh, sit down at a table for a meal. And the enemy is the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. But I encourage you to spend some time today thinking about this in a deeper way. In a time of adversity, our real dreams sometimes become more clear. Yes, the simple joys of hugging our grandchildren or our friends or enjoying a glass of wine with a friend are things we all have missed and look forward to enjoying again soon as the vaccination rollout gains momentum.

But is there some other yearning in your heart? Think on that today and open your heart to God about it. And blessings on your week.