Daily Bread September 20

Box Hedges
Kass Unger of Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia


I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. Gracious is the Lord and righteous; our God is merciful. -Psalm 116:1-2, 5

Box hedges are the downfall of society.

In a conversation on community, a friend exclaimed, “The problem is box hedges. New people move into the neighborhood and then plant box hedges.” While they plant these hedges to create privacy, they don’t realize that what they are growing is the downfall of society. If people can’t see each other, how can they get to know each other and thus care for each other?

Is that really the secret to creating community? Let people see you?

Recently I was having a conversation with one of our youth who was concerned that the other youth didn’t like her. I knew it was not at all a factual statement, but I did understand how she could have felt this way. The other youth didn’t know her. My advice to her was proximity. For this group the key ingredient to friendship was proximity-being near and present to one another.

I find it ever harder to discover pockets of community in my ever-changing society. It was a large part of my childhood thirty years ago. Now it is something we have been striving to recreate and enhance among the youth and young adults of the Australian Community of Christ. At the end of the day it comes down to turning up and being present. The foundations to our community are being seen and seeing others, getting to know each other, and thus caring for each other. Perhaps the solution really is that simple.

Prayer Phrase

“Be vulnerable to divine grace” (Doctrine and Covenants Section 163:10b).

Spiritual Practice

This month, spend time each day noticing where divine grace is already pouring forth. Perhaps it is a simple awareness of creation’s systems and cycles that support our daily existence. The sun rises each day without being asked. There are underlying rhythms and relationships that hold the fabric of our lives together. Sometimes they fall into the background of our lives. We forget to see the natural generosity that spills over throughout our days-of the planet, the people we love, the Sacred Presence in all moments, the kindness of strangers we encounter, and the gifts we carry within. What is already being given in your life? What does it look like to be vulnerable to divine grace today?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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