Excerpt from Psalm 42

"Why are you cast down, O my Soul?"

Reflection by Donna Schaper

Jim Crawford, the retired Senior Pastor at Old South Church in Boston, was visiting a man in the hospital. The man was very angry that he had cancer and was not being healed of it. "Why me?" he kept saying. Crawford responded, "Why not you?"  There is a turn in the process of suffering when we go from "Why me?" to "Why not me?"  We tip. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross called it acceptance, at the end of all the anger and denial and bargaining. This coalescence, this shiver, is like a mountain-top experience, even though we may have it over our morning coffee.

You may also want to pray the great prayers of Psalm 42. Just say, Deep is calling to Deep, O God. Or just say, God you are my rock. Or just say that you are panting for a stream.

Any of these sentences can tip you from the "Why me?" whining to the "Why not me?" acceptance.

God rushes into a slightly open heart, a door left ajar.

Prayer

O God, when we suffer, we are without our diplomas, our resumes, our credit cards, our ID's. We are on our own. Teach us how to suffer as part of the human race and as your child. Amen.

16 Ways to Say "I Love My Church," by the writers of the Daily Devotional.

About the Author Donna Schaper is Senior Minister of Judson Memorial Church, New York, New York.

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