Could It Be That Simple?
Dear Jeremy, Tate and Katelyn (the three beloved humans who made me a mom),
As a new parent, I was woefully unsure of myself. I gave birth to you in the age of iconic child-rearing experts from Dr. Spock to Dr. Dobson. I read both of them…and more than once. Your dad and I were the babies of our respected families. We knew how to be taken care of but little about how to be caregivers. It was definitely amateur hour in the Lamb family nursery. There was one thing of which I was certain. I desperately wanted to be a good parent to you.
I had a mentor who saw my struggle. She said to me, “Cyndi, trust your heart. I know your heart, and I believe you’ll be just fine if you listen and go with it.” What an idea! Could it really be that simple? Simple, perhaps, but not necessarily easy.
-Mom
(Continued below.)
Inside Out Lectionary Letters
Year A - Transfiguration Sunday (Texts, Art, Hymns)
Readings for February 15, 2026 (Transfiguration Sunday)
Exodus 24:12-18 / Psalm 2 or Psalm 99 / 2 Peter 1:16-21 / Matthew 17:1-9
Commentary, and letter to her three children, by Cyndi Lamb
Scripture as a Mirror of the Soul
(Continued from above.)
The apostles were also trying to figure out how to live out this new birth of which Jesus spoke and embodied. They were aware of how often Jesus slipped off to quiet places to be alone. In this passage, Matthew tells us that this time Jesus took his closest companions with him up a high mountain. Peter, James and John were unprepared for what happened next. Jesus underwent a transformation right before them with his face blazing and his clothes dazzling. As if that wasn’t enough, Moses and Elijah showed up; Long-dead Hebrew saints. Then, in one final dramatic act, a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
They fell to the ground in fear. Of the voice? Or, at what the voice had to say? “Listen to him.” Did this threesome wonder if living the way of Jesus was really that basic…to simply listen? Peter was ready to take action…to build something. But God’s last words directed their actions to turn inward…and to listen. May it not be lost on us that after all the spectacle, they raised their eyes to find that “they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.”
I’ve spent the last 15 years trying to reconfigure some of the patterns of my life such as…
To quit polling those around me on what I should think or do.
Turning to prayer instead of turning to the latest bestseller “How To”.
Laying down some activities to make space for the activity of God in my life.
Scheduling more moments on the mount solely for listening to that still small voice.
I’m convinced the Divine never bangs down the door, shoves past my defenses, or forces a way of being on me. So I’m getting the hang of laying out the welcome mat.
I’ve come to believe Jesus is eager for these moments with all of us…where our primary sense of self comes not from the outside…what we do, how we perform, what we build, but it comes from deep within where we hear the spirit calling us beloved. Soaking in the divine nature that is all good, all loving, all wise. May it be so in my life and in yours.