On the Road with Mercy/En el Camino con Mercy

Mercy Gonzalez-Barnes

December 1, 2022

The Lord is Near…

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:4-7 NRSV

The Lord is Near…

There is a form of Bible Study called Lectio Divina. In it we read a scripture various times and listen to what part of that scripture stands out to us. This is a wonderful scripture because I hear different things each time I read it.

I hear Rejoice, be gentle, the Lord is NEAR, don’t be anxious and

the peace of God will guard my heart and mind.

As we enter the Advent season with all the chaos, decorating, shopping, cooking; the phrase “The Lord is Near” gives me hope and helps me to slow down and listen to God’s voice. It says to me, I know you are anxious, but I am here. I will guard your heart and mind, just trust in me, I am your hope. You are not alone; I am by your side.

My dear friends and supporters, my family in Christ, I want to thank you for also being by my side on this journey of faith. I am so thankful for all that has happened in the last year. The Lord has shown me his grace and I can rejoice with our students, with my colleagues, because I am part of that new thing that God is doing through his grace in this program.

God is doing great things through their ministries. One of our graduates has a prison ministry, another graduate works with immigrants, another one works with at risk youth and one of our graduates from Haiti wrote a paper on ‘ministering in the midst of a violent society’. All of us in a small measure are the puzzle pieces that God uses to make his Kingdom come.

 This is also a season of waiting for the new thing that God is doing in our lives. I just turned 64 in September, and I am not ready to say, it is finished. There are new calls and new adventures. In January I will begin my DMin on Leadership in the Global Context. I am opening my heart to learn and to experience God’s new call.

 In March, our daughter will make us grandparents and we are full of joy and expectation. This is an event that we have been waiting for and we look forward to meeting our grandson. We continue to work with new students, new people that are responding to that call to be better prepared for the new thing that God is calling them to do.

And then there is the ‘Great Cloud of Witnesses’, those that support and cheer us on with their prayers and support. YOU are part of the great cloud of witnesses. We cannot do what we do without your prayers. Please continue to keep me in your prayers and in your financial support.

My prayer for all of you is that “God will guide your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus”. The Lord is Near, let us rejoice and have hope.