Some days it’s hard to be Lutheran. It seems like nobody’s getting along, nobody’s listening, nobody really wants to dialogue anyway.

It’s on those days that I pull out two folders, one in my email and one hard copy, both aptly titled, “Bad Days.” I keep a lot of different notes in them, some from pastors and professors, some from my family and my BFF, some from complete strangers.

Tonight I read an email from one of my pastors, one who introduced me to the Book of Concord, one who wouldn’t stop talking about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, one who was patient, one who laughs big and lives full.

Reading through notes like these is humbling. They restore me for the fight. They are, as he put it, “the daily bread God promises me in my prayers.”

So in case you’re feeling frustrated, or apathetic, or wonder if the Church will ever get it together before the Lord returns, be encouraged. This note worked over my bad day, and I trust it will do the same for you.

“We theologians of the cross don’t often get to see the results of our paltry work. After all, the Holy Spirit doesn’t have a body that shows up on our color or x-ray screens, but there are times when we see it in each other. Texans believe that one man who has truth on his side and is brave enough to stand up for it shall prevail. Theologians of the Cross realize that one person who has the Word can withstand the most clever schemes of the evil one. When that person is articulate and courageous (which means he’s willing to take on the martyrdom of being called narrow-minded, prejudiced and insensitive), he’s welcomed to a small but distinguished crowd: Stephen Proto-martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, Huss, Luther, Walther, Loehe, Sasse, etc. Now thanks be to the God whose ways are beyond searching out and who protects His Bride. Amen and viva el Alamo!”