Daily Thought for Thursday 13th March 2025
“I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living …”
Psalm 27:13
Pura Vida
Isobel Hunter
Lent is a time when we ask questions of our faith, when we try to understand how our belief shapes us and sustains us in today’s secular world. Here the psalmist is telling us that faith is not just about some promise of eternal life in another world, but it is about having the faith to see God in this world, this physical world, in ourselves, in our community, in politics, in economics, everywhere that is anywhere, right now.
It is not to say that we give up critical thinking. Life totally without fear is impossible but it can be too easy to let our insecurities overwhelm us when we look around the world. In our own lives too we can often be in danger of focusing on all the things that are going wrong and that could go wrong. But it doesn’t have to be that way, as Christians shouldn’t we be glass half – or even glass completely – full people!
I was lucky enough to travel to Costa Rica last year and in that small country you hear the phrase “Pura Vida” a lot. More than just “pure life” in its literal English translation, it is the quintessential Costa Rican phrase. It’s a lifestyle, a feeling, a perspective, encapsulating how Costa Ricans cherish life’s simplest pleasures and find joy in the little things. It is used to say hello, goodbye, thank you or to express that all is well. For sure, life in Costa Rica is not without its problems, drugs and illegal immigration to name two, but they have faith that above all this life is good and they recognise and give thanks for it. Pura Vida.
Shall we pray?:
God of life, You created this world and all it contains and then looked upon your works and said it is very good. When we feel overwhelmed by personal and geopolitical concerns, open us up to the good that surrounds us and to giving thanks through worship. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Isobel Hunter is Session Clerk to the Parish of Upper Tweeddale, and a worship leader in the West Tweeddale linking of 6 churches in the Scottish Borders.