“Lead me, guide me, along the way; for if you lead me, I cannot stray. Lord, let me walk each day with thee. Lead me, O Lord lead me. I am weak and I need thy strength and pow’r to help me over my weakest hour. Help me through the darkness thy face to see. Lead me, O Lord, lead me.” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 768, vs. 1)

This summer, I’ve been writing a weekly devotion as we walk together responding to Hurricane Sandy. It’s part of my work as the Lutheran Disaster Response-NJ Synod Coordinator. I took the name for the weekly devotion, Along the Way, from this hymn.

The words of this first verse remind me that we are all works in progress. We are not at the beginning of responding to Sandy, nor are we even close to the end of recovery. I also hear the proclamation that God walks alongside us no matter what storms come our way.

The most difficult thing for me, personally, is the declaration that I cannot do it alone. I cannot be perfectly strong, always serving, and fix all disasters. The task is far too large. In the face of this, I am confronted with my own weakness and natural limitations. This is why we walk together; accompany one another—not so that we can “fix” everyone else’s problems, but simply because there is strength to be found in walking together along the way.

O Lord, in the storms of life, help us to trust that you continue to lead and guide us along the way. Amen.

Contributed by Pastor Becky
Monday July 1, 2013
Liturgical Year C: Week 31
Liturgical Color: Green
Sunday Gospel reading: Proper 8
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost