Each morning during Lent, I’ve been sitting in my “reading spot” a little longer than usual. I linger there with my coffee and our congregational devotional, letting those quiet moments stretch just a bit. I begin with the Scripture, and then I read the reflection offered by one of you. After praying and pondering the question that follows, I sit. I listen. And each day, I find myself hearing the same words rise in my heart: What a gift this is.
In this season of “Seeking: Honest Questions for Deeper Faith,” we have been learning what it means to bring our real questions before God. Together, we have been practicing the courage to turn toward God just as we are – open-handed, honest-hearted, and trusting that grace meets us here… especially here. What I did not fully anticipate during this season is how powerful it would be to witness one another doing exactly that.
When I turn the pages of our Lenten devotional, I am not encountering abstract theology. I am meeting you. I am reading the faith of the people I pray with, worship with, and serve alongside. I am holding your joys and griefs, your gratitude and struggles, your questions and hopes. And in these pages, I am gently reminded that none of us are seeking God alone.
Our Lenten devotional has given us a shared rhythm. Each day, many of us are sitting down with the same Scripture, pondering the same questions, and hearing the voice of someone from our church family speak about where God has met them. There is a quiet togetherness unfolding across kitchens and living rooms, early mornings and late evenings. Together we are seeking – and finding – the God who seeks us first.
There is something deeply biblical about this. Scripture encourages us to “bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). We are called to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). And we are reminded that the Church is the body of Christ, with each of us members of it (1 Cor. 12:27). In sharing our questions and stories, we are living out these truths. We are carrying one another’s grief, holding one another’s hope, and celebrating one another’s joy. One person’s reflection is another person’s reassurance. One person’s question is another person’s courage. One person’s prayer is another person’s reminder that God is near.
This, at its heart, is what it means to be the Church. As John Wesley often reminded early Methodists, “there is no holiness but social holiness.” Growth in grace was never meant to happen in isolation. It happens in honest conversation, mutual accountability, and shared prayer. From the earliest days of the Methodist movement, believers gathered in class meetings and small groups, asking one another, “How is it with your soul?” What we are experiencing through this devotional is a modern expression of that same gift.
And here is the good news: this togetherness does not have to end when the devotional does.
Although we will reach the last page in a few weeks, the gift we are discovering – the gift of listening to one another’s stories – can continue. The same Spirit who stirred these reflections is still at work among us! Honest conversations do not have to stop. What if this Lenten practice is showing us who we are called to be year-round? A people who share our stories. A people who are honest about our questions. A people who trust that God speaks not only from pulpits but also from pews. A community.
As we continue to journey together, I invite you to reflect on a few questions: Whose voice has stayed with you during these weeks? What story has encouraged you? What question has deepened your own faith? How might we continue to lean into this gift of togetherness?
Perhaps the next step is simple. Reach out. Write a note. Start a conversation. Join a Sunday school class or Bible study. Ask someone, “How is it with your soul?” Let the seeking continue.
Friends, faith is rarely formed in isolation. It grows as we listen, as we speak, and as we walk alongside one another. Thanks be to God for this journey we are sharing. Thanks be to God for the holy gift of seeking God side by side!
Grace and peace,
Jennifer