As a young believer in Jesus, I picked up my new devotional Bible and read a familiar Scripture: “Ask and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). The commentary explained that what we really should be asking God for is our will to line up with His. By seeking for His will to be done, we would be assured that we’d receive what we asked for. That was a new concept for me, and I prayed for God’s will to be done in my life.

Later that same day I became surprisingly excited about a job opportunity I’d already turned down in my mind, and I was reminded about my prayer. Perhaps what I didn’t think I wanted was actually a part of God’s will for my life. I continued to pray and eventually accepted the job.

In a much more profound and eternal moment, Jesus modeled this for us. Before His betrayal and arrest, which led to His crucifixion, He prayed: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ’s prayer was filled with anguish and agony as He faced physical and emotional pain (v. 44). Yet He was still able to “earnestly” pray for God’s will to be done.

God’s will in my life has become my ultimate prayer. This means I may desire things I didn’t even know I wanted or needed. The job I originally hadn’t wanted turned out to be the beginning of my journey in Christian publishing. I believe God’s will was done.

“Get down!” my friend said firmly to her son after he climbed onto the church pew and waved his hands. “I want the pastor to see me,” he innocently replied. “If I don’t stand up, he won’t see me.”

While standing on the pews is probably not encouraged in most churches, my friend’s son had a good point. Standing and waving his hands was certainly one way to be seen and to capture the pastor’s attention.

When we’re trying to get God’s attention, we don’t have to worry about being seen by Him. God sees each of us all the time. He’s the same One who revealed Himself to Hagar when she was probably at the lowest, loneliest, most frustrating time in her life. She’d been used as a pawn and given to Abram by his wife, Sarai, to produce a son (Genesis 16:3). And when she did get pregnant, Abram allowed his wife to mistreat Hagar: “Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled her” (v. 6).

The runaway slave found herself alone, pregnant, and miserable. Yet in the midst of her desperation in the wilderness, God compassionately sent an angel to speak to her. The angel told her that God had “heard of [her] misery” (v. 11). She responded by saying, “You are the God who sees me” (v. 13).

What a realization—especially in the midst of the wilderness. God saw Hagar and had compassion. And no matter how tough things are, He sees you.

Years before Zoom was an accessible communication tool, a friend asked me to join her on a video call to discuss a project. Through the tone of my emails, she could tell I was baffled, so she suggested I find a teenager to help me figure out how to set up a video call.

Her suggestion points to the value of intergenerational relationships. It’s something observed in Ruth and Naomi’s story. Ruth is often celebrated for being a loyal daughter-in-law, deciding to leave her land to accompany Naomi back to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:16-17). When they arrived in the town, the younger woman said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick the leftover grain [for us]” (2:2). She helped the older woman, who then helped the younger woman marry Boaz. Naomi’s advice for Ruth prompted Boaz to take action in purchasing her deceased in-laws’ property and to take her “as [his] wife” (4:9-10).

We certainly respect the advice of those who share their seasoned wisdom with younger generations. But Ruth and Naomi remind us that the exchange can go both ways. There’s something to be learned from those younger than us as well as those who are older. Let’s seek to develop loving and loyal intergenerational relationships. It will bless us and others and help us learn something we don’t know.

My friend hurried from her stressful job at the hospital, wondering what she would prepare for dinner before her husband returned from his equally demanding job. She had made chicken on Sunday and served leftovers on Monday. Then, they had yet another round of chicken—this time baked—on Tuesday. She found two pieces of fish in the freezer, but she knew the fillets weren’t her husband’s favorite. Not finding anything else she could prepare in just a few minutes, she decided the fish would have to do.

As she placed the dish on the table, she said somewhat apologetically to her husband who had just arrived home: “I know this isn’t your favorite.” Her husband looked up and said, “Honey, I’m just happy we have food on the table.”

His attitude reminds me of the importance of being grateful and thankful for our daily provisions from God—whatever they are. Giving thanks for our daily bread, or meals, models Jesus’ example. When He ate with two disciples after His resurrection, Christ “took bread, gave thanks, [and] broke it” (Luke 24:30). He thanked His Father as He had earlier when he had fed the five thousand with five “loaves and two small fish” (John 6:11).

When we give thanks for our daily meals and for other provisions, our gratitude reflects Jesus’ ways and honors our heavenly Father. Let’s give thanks to God today.

One evening I noticed neat rows of soil in a vacant lot near my home. Each row contained small green leaves with tiny buds peeking out. The next morning, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a patch of beautiful red tulips sprouting in the lot.

The previous fall, a group had planted one hundred thousand bulbs in empty lots throughout the South Side of Chicago. They chose red to symbolize how redlining (lending discrimination by banks) had impacted neighborhoods where primarily minorities lived. The tulips symbolized the houses that could have been in those lots.

God’s people have endured many challenges—from being exiled from their homelands to discrimination like redlining. Yet, we can still find hope. Isaiah reminds Israel during a time of exile that God would not leave them. God would give them a “crown of beauty” in place of ashes. Even the poor would receive good news (v. 1). God promised to exchange despairing spirits with a “garment of praise.” All of these images evoke His splendor and would bring joy to the people, who would now be “oaks of righteousness” instead of dejected exiles (v. 3).

Those tulips also show that God can create splendor from dirt and discrimination. I look forward to seeing the tulips each spring, and more importantly renewed hope in my neighborhood and other communities.