The God in Whom I Believe “Holds the Whole World in His Hands”
This photo of St. Patrick’s Cathedral highlighted behind the bronze statue of Atlas holding the world is one of my favorites Ron captured when we were in New York City last summer.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral was an unforgettable stop in our day of sightseeing in Manhattan. The impressive, iconic church was not only magnificent, but cool and serene—a distinct contrast to the hot, humid, bustling chaos right outside its doors. For a brief time, I knelt to pray for our nation and the world while Ron wandered around snapping photos and our granddaughter, Emmi, checked her tablet.
Directly across the street from St. Patrick’s is Rockefeller Center, where a huge bronze statue of Atlas holding up the world stands. According to Greek mythology, the Greek god Zeus, following the Titan War, sentenced Atlas to hold up the world for all eternity.
This past week, while watching television, I remembered kneeling at St. Patrick’s four months earlier. As I watched thousands of grief-stricken people gather inside and outside the Cathedral for the funeral of a young police officer, I thought about my prayer for a stop to the violence and strife eating away at the soul of the country I love.
God, do my prayers matter?
Sometimes, it’s difficult for me to imagine God cares about this grandma’s concerns, especially when issues about which I pray have deep and complicated roots.
Perhaps like you, I have lots of God questions. In fact, I have more questions than answers and am convinced many—maybe even most—won’t be answered this side of heaven.
The Spirit of the unseen God in whom I believe, however, reminds me that my God is not a mythological being like Atlas who was punished for his behavior and sentenced to hold the world for eternity.
The God in whom I believe is real, ever existing, and holds “the whole world in his [strong and loving] hands” as the spiritual folk song once sung by slaves declares.[i]
The God in whom I believe hears my prayers for peace and reconciliation.
The God in whom I believe doesn’t require me to know all the answers but wants me to keep:
praying,
listening,
learning,
seeking wisdom,
granting grace, and
above all, loving more and more!
Blessings on your journey,
[i] I’d invite you to check out this website for some fascinating history about this song: https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/HesGotTheWholeWorld.pdf