A blessing written for and prayed over outgoing minister, mentor, and friend LD.
From the book of Matthew, Chapter 5:
3 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
Spirit, we can offer your servant Leslie no greater blessing than this: that she continue to embrace these uniquely powerful ways in which she shows up in the world.
Thank you for the moments when she’s been at the end of her rope, for us, and for the moments when she’s despaired that she’s lost what’s most dear. Thank you for the way she’s modeled what it is to be content with just who we are – and how to bring our authentic selves to Your altar. Thank you for the way she indulges her appetite for You, and for the abundance of her feast that has overflowed into our lives, and so many others.
Thank you for the way Leslie cares, and loves, and seeks out ways to shine the light of her inside world on so many of us present here, and so many present elsewhere.
Thank you for the ways she’s taught us to cooperate, instead of compete or fight. And thank you for the times when her commitment to You has provoked persecution. Because we have had the privilege of watching her rise time and again, and know that with each rebirth, she fortifies the power of a woman after God’s own heart.
It seems impossible to bless LD more than she has already blessed herself by seeking You, but, Spirit, we offer both You and Leslie our eternal gratefulness for allowing Journey the immeasurable blessing of her service, and on behalf of all those whom she has served, we lay our blessing upon her:
We pray for courage and wisdom for Leslie as she opens this new chapter; we pray the same for ourselves as we rise up with the lessons she has taught us in Your name.
From the book of Matthew, Chapter 28: Jesus…gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life…Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”