Unfailing Strength to Bear It
LETTER BY GRACE POUCH
I got choked up singing “Away in a Manger” at our church’s candlelight service. At first I was misty with memory — picturing my babies as newborns, swaddled up snug and warm, with full cheeks and little balled up fists. Watching a new baby sleep is a little slice of heaven.
But when I got to the line, Stay by my cradle til morning is nigh, my thoughts shifted from memories of being a new mom to my present condition. If I’m honest, I often feel more like the fragile child in the cradle than the capable parent gazing down. I am scared of the darkness in the world right now. Many days my prayers echo the hymn’s simple words:
Be near me…
Stay by me…
Love me, I pray.
And as I see people everywhere under the boot of those who rule by force and profit by injustice, this little song that I usually think of as kindergarten-fluff becomes real, prescient, gut-wrenching:
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
and fit us for heaven
to live with thee there.
It is impossible for us at Renovaré to address every current event that represents the darkness of our age and the deep need for people who are formed in Christ, but we are trying in our own way (in line with our calling and position) to help people cooperate with grace and become “fit for heaven”— capable of doing God’s will, on earth as it is in heaven.
We believe God when he says: “Do not be afraid — I will save you! …It is happening already — you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there” (Isaiah 43:1, 19).
We believe that even for us, today, who are “dwelling in the region and shadow of death, his great light has dawned” (Mt 4:16).
We believe that Christ trains and empowers people to “walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8). He gives us the power and shows us the way to “turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that [we] may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me’” (Acts 26:18).
God is always near you,
always with you,
always loving you,
always holding you.
Our staff will be on pilgrimage this coming week. We will pray that Christ’s love and peace will fill you, and that he will make us a blessing to a world desperately groaning for humankind to become children of God.
Grace Pouch
Content Manager
P.S. Pete Greig joins the Renovaré Book Club to facilitate his book How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People, which begins January 26. If you’re not a member, we invite you to join the journey into a more conversational life with God (now at a reduced price for the second half of the season).
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LET’S DIVE IN...
CURATED BY GRACE POUCH
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1.
Nathan and Vivianne Foster have created a New Year meditation for Life With God, melding a famous quote by Francis de Sales with the words of Mary from scripture. Enjoy this bonus episode of Life With God.
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2.
In a new essay, Brian Morykon writes on how avoiding painful situations isn’t always a bad life strategy — until it keeps you from facing things you need to face to become the person God longs for you to become.
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3.
“Calm the waves of this heart, O God; calm its tempests… You give us peace, O God, peace that the whole world can never take away.” A collection of prayers by Sören Kierkegaard brims with reminders of God’s constant care and almighty goodness that overcomes chaos within and around us.
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4.
“We’d be wise to remember what the angels in the Christmas story emphasize every time they show up to announce the arrival of Jesus: ‘Do not be afraid’,” writes Carolyn Arends in her essay “Why the World Is a Perfectly Safe Place to Be.”
WORTH QUOTING
“As to the past, let us entrust it to God’s mercy, the future to divine Providence. Our task is to live holy the present moment.”
– St. Gianna Molla
RENOVARÉ EVENTS
Reduced Price for Second Half of Season
Renovaré Book Club
Next Book Begins January 26
Pete Greig facilitates his book How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People, starting on January 26. It’s a great time to join the Renovaré Book Club for the last two books of the season.
Deadline Approaching
Apply for the Renovaré Institute of Christian Spiritual Formation
2026-28 Cohort
The Renovaré Institute is a two-year program exploring friendship with Jesus and how to intentionally cooperate with his desire to heal and transform us. The application deadline for the 2026 – 28 cohort (with four week-long residencies near Dallas, TX) is February 1, 2026. Learn more and apply here.
Registration Now Open
Cultivating a Rule of Life Virtual Workshop
2 Date Options: Jan 29 and Jan 31
In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore the timeless Christian framework of Rule of Life as a pathway to true human flourishing in today’s world.
Save the Date!
Next Online Workshop
2 Date Options: Feb 19 and 21
Our next online workshop will be offered twice, February 19 and 21, 2026. The workshop is titled Confession for Life Together and will be led by Richella Parham. Stay tuned for details.
TO CONTEMPLATE
Natività
Alessandro Franchi 1884
“Be near me… stay by me… love me” are all prayers we can say in the spirit of Jesus Christ, who came as a child and trusted the Father (and the Father’s grace-filled human servants) to provide everything needed.
TO PONDER
Carry these words from Francis De Sales with you this week — write them down or put them to memory.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow.
The same loving God who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day.
God will either shield you from suffering, or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.
Francis de Sales