The following is a part of a meditation series that I write with my wife, called Somedays’ Meditations. We started it in our home parish for our tweens, and we thought it would be helpful to folks online as well. You can read the meditations here, or you can visit https://christchurchmanlius.org/somedays-meditations to see them as a collected volume.

Scripture:

Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; *
I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord,
my good above all other.”

Psalm 16:1

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Meditation:

I remember the first time I taught a class. It was in Japan, and I was teaching 6th graders English. I was terrified. I had never been a teacher before, only a student. I didn’t know how to introduce myself. I was worried that the students would act up and not listen to me. I felt like they would laugh at me.

You may be surprised to know this, but there are times when even adults are scared and worried. The world is just so big, and it’s very easy to make mistakes. We have to do things that we’re not comfortable with, that we’re not prepared for, and that make us feel very, very small.

In these times, we look to God. Sometimes God will solve the problem for us. For me, God took all the emotions rumbling around inside my head and my stomach like stones in a blender, God grabbed it all, and he threw it away. Wow, amazing!

God doesn’t always work that way, though. Sometimes we need to be present to our feelings so that we can understand them. Sometimes our fears are real, and we need to listen to them. But no matter what happens, God is with us, and we can take refuge in him. We can crawl inside of God’s heart and ask God to help us, to calm us down, or to help us get through these tough times and find a calm place to catch our breath.

Remember though, no matter what, your parents, your family, your friends, your church family, and God especially are very proud of you. You can always hide in God – God is our refuge, after all! – whenever you need, but you can also look to all of us as images of God’s tender love in your life.

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Prayer:

Here’s a prayer to help you calm down when you’re in a bad place: “God, I am your child, and I know you love me. Please let me hide in you. Protect me and keep me as your own. I love you. Amen.”