Jeg har tiltro til Gud :)

I dag hadde vi den norske kappel. Det var veldig fint. Men du kan ikke forstå meg, så jeg skal skrive engelsk nå.

Today we had the Norwegian chapel service. It was very nice. It all started with some traditional Norwegian Christmas carols being played by the accordions, and between that and the few bunads I saw I was put into the Norwegian Christmas mood. We then sang Christmas carols in Norwegian, "Å jul med din glede," "Du grønne, glitrende tre," and "Jeg er så glad," between different readings and reflections.

This entire experience brought me back to last January, close to the end, when I read the following passage in Norwegian and something clicked...
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Vet du det ikke, eller har du ikke hørt det?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Herren er en evig Gud, den som har skapt jordens ender.
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
Han blir ikke trett, og han blir ikke mødig; hans forstand er uransakelig.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

Han gir den trette kraft, og den som ingen krefter har, gir han stor styrke.
He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.

Gutter blir trette og mødige, og unge menn snubler;
Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;

Men de som venter på Herren, får ny kraft, løfter vingene som ørner;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
de løper og blir ikke trette, de går og blir ikke mødige.
they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31
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Something about the Norwegian language touches my faith in a way that is otherwise inaccessible to me. The Gospel reading today, the typical Luke 2 Christmas story, came alive for me as I listened and read the story that I know so well yet never really hear.

Med ett var engelen omgitt av en himmelsk hærskare, som lovpriste Gud og sang:

"Ære nære Gud i det høyeste og fred på jorden blant mennesker som har Guds valbehag!"

Lukas 2:13-14

At the end of the service, we linked arms in a giant ring around the Chapel and sang "Glade jul" (Silent Night). I was close to tears as we finished singing. I know this is where I belong.

Herren velsigne deg og bevare deg. Herren la sitt ansikt lyse over deg og være deg nådig. Herren løfte sitt åsyn på deg og gi deg fred. Amen.