Oh!
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; God’s mercies never come to an end: they are new every morning. – Lamentations 3:22–23 (NRSVUE, adapted for inclusive language)
Many years ago, when my friend and colleague, Martha Bays, first told her elderly father that she was going to seminary, his face lit up, and with a warm smile he exclaimed, “You’re in seminary? Oh! You’ll make a wonderful minister!”
Her father had dementia. He didn’t always track people or conversations. But that day he did. He knew her. And that she was in seminary. And that she would make a wonderful minister. And he told her so.
The next time she visited, she reminded him who she was and what she was doing. He immediately brightened. “You’re in seminary?” he exclaimed in original amazement. “Oh! You’ll make a wonderful minister!”
And so it went. Each time she saw him, he took in her news with fresh glee. Every time he blessed her with the same delighted “Oh!” And every time his spontaneous affirmation felt as new to her as it actually was to him.
It made her world. It still does, even now that he’s gone.
What would you give to have someone discover you afresh every day? To see you originally, time after time? To receive you like a revelation?
What would you give to behold a smile of vast affection spread across a beloved face, announcing every day, like breaking news, that you are wonderful? What would you give for a life so firmly grounded?
It would never get old, that “Oh!” It would make your day.
It would make your heart.
Prayer
In your presence, Holy One, I am always new. Your new morning mercies re-create me. Every single time. Great is your faithfulness!
Mary Luti is a long time seminary educator and pastor, author of Teresa of Avila’s Way and numerous articles, and founding member of The Daughters of Abraham, a national network of interfaith women’s book groups.