by the Rev. Jered Weber-Johnson
6 Remember your maternal love, O WOMB OF LIFE,
and your faithful love,
for they have been from of old.
7 The sins of my youth and my transgressions remember not;
according to your faithful love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, GRACIOUS ONE.
Psalm 25: 6-7, A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church: Year B
In those late nights, when sleep doesn’t come, and my mind has time aplenty to revisit the mistakes I made over the years, the people I’ve hurt, the words I’ve said in haste or in anger, the moments of neglect or laziness, and the things that lie broken in the wake of my life, I wonder if those I’ve hurt are laying awake too, nursing those hurts, recalling with deep grief, the ways that I broke trust. I wish I could forget all of the things I regret, the transgressions of my youth.
They say God knows all and remembers all. It seems like a silly thing to ask God to forget – to ask the one who holds all in an infinite memory, to let go the small and great misdeeds of my life. Yet, I cannot recall most of my own children’s mistakes. I remember so much more their triumphs and joys. Surely God, who is love, who is Mother and creator to us all, surely God, the womb of life, remembers us the same, and will grant this one prayer.
Cercis canadensis – Redbud
These photographs, shared each day during Lent, capture the beauty of plants native to the Upper Midwest. As we spend time in Lenten reflection, these images of new life can remind us daily of our calling to be caretakers of God’s Creation.
Photo by Jo Anna Hebberger
