It is Advent as I write. Wars and deaths and fear still fill our lives. As we look at ourselves, our world, and the chaos around us, instead of despair, we “Wait for the Lord!” Something new will break through all the gloom.

As house parents for youth and teens who were troubled or came from unstable homes, it was our duty to keep these ten boys safe.

God says: “No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”

Yet, with this same tongue, I can tell someone “I love you!” I can lift a person who is stressed out, tell others of their goodness, ask forgiveness for a wrong I have done, and share the story of God as I have experienced God with a friend. With the tongue I can pray to God and praise God in word or song. What a wonderful gift the tongue truly is!

God comes to Abraham (age 99) saying, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.” God tells him his plan—I have a surprise for you! I will make a covenant with you. God’s side of the agreement is that Abram and Sarai with new names, new land to this nomadic couple to be passed down to their ancestors, and Sarai will become pregnant, the mother of many nations.

There it is! We are a people who have experienced God in our life or a people who are seeking to know God and wanting to experience God’s mercy and forgiveness and care. Sure, we are far from perfect. God knows that too! Todd, my husband, and Lutheran pastor, once said, “If it weren’t for sin, I’d be out of business as a pastor!”

The first time I took a real hike in the mountains was when our church youth group was going backpacking and camping at Twin Lakes above Darrington, Washington. I so wanted to be able to just “do it” and not look too much like a novice. So, I took off at a good speed and all was going well until I felt I couldn’t keep going anymore. I stopped to get my breath, leaning over, really spent of energy. The Boy Scout leader accompanying us, came up to me, put his hand on my heaving back and simply said, “You’ll do just fine. Just remember to take   one    step    at    a   time!”

Cutting out the prejudice from your life gives you a new way of seeing not only those who were the target of your prejudice but also the view of life that flows together unencumbered by a negative or obscured attitude. One of the best ways to do this is to get to know the other person, understand what makes him or her that way, and pray constantly that God will help you see others as God sees them!

In Africa the same plight awaits anyone who has leprosy. There was a Leprosy Center near where we lived in Bong County, Liberia in the 1980s. I went there once a month to be with the Lepers, to bring them God’s Word, Holy Communion, and to sit beside them and touch them as they suffered not only from their leprosy but from being ostracized from society.

Families. Sometimes they are difficult, yet always a blessing. A family may be dysfunctional or difficult, just like the families in the Bible. God gives us family so that we are not alone, have people to care about, protect, and forgive when they behave other than what God would have them be. Give God thanks. Do your best to bring goodness and hope to those you love—to your family.