Prayer for a Piece of Clay
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Don’t Touch!Don’t Touch!
Today, early in the morning, I approached an unfamiliar object on the beach, just above the water line. Its label warned that it was dangerous, phosphorous-filled, and should not be touched. The finder was asked to notify the police or military. The discovery saddened me. In the midst of so much serene beauty, under skies still washed with dawning light, I had stumbled upon something that hinted of death and destruction, something unconnected with the morning’s beauty. I remembered the passage from Philippians where we are told to think of what is pure and lovely. I tried to fix my thoughts on the right, the pure, the admirable, the excellent, and the praiseworthy. As I reported the object to the park ranger, my duty was complete. But now I need your help, Lord to find a way to live in this world with its unpleasant realities and still reach for you and your perfection of goodness and beauty. Help me find beauty even in the midst of ugliness. May I put aside this ugly object and try to be an agent of peace and beauty in a troubled, violent world. Amen.
StolenStolen
I spoke with a woman in the store this morning. During our conversation, she said she’d once been in a church with a large congregation, and when she went to the altar for Communion, she returned to her pew and discovered her purse had been taken. How sad that during a time of communion, someone had chosen to rob rather than share. I thought of how things are sometimes stolen from me when my mind is elsewhere. I walk on the beach wrestling with other people’s problems or with situations over which I have no control, and I’m robbed of the day’s beauty and the ocean’s gifts. I let myself feel apart from God, and my faith begins to erode, just as the water bites at the shore. Forgive me, Lord, for letting you go too easily, for letting situations rob me of your presence. Yes, bad things happen, even in the church where there are more avowed sinners than anyplace else. Please help me to approach you always knowing there is nothing more important than my closeness to you. Amen.
Our Daily BreadOur Daily Bread
Tomorrow is a “big town” shopping day. We will make the nearly 200 mile round trip foray into the city to stock up on groceries and supplies that are difficult to find on the island. We leave early in the morning and return late afternoon, having visited as many stores as possible, running through the items on our list. Each day I pray I will be granted “my daily bread”, but island life means sometimes I have to freeze next week’s loaf as well. Lacking an additional freezer, I must plan carefully for supplies so I’ll have ingredients on hand when I prepare a meal. I’m afraid I spend less time organizing my emotional survival than I do my day-to-day physical well-being, as though it’s less important or pressing. I need help keeping myself aware that food involves not only physical nutrition but also spiritual nutrition. Jesus said He was the Bread of Life. Do I work as hard to have that Blessed Loaf as I do my daily whole wheat loaf? How much time and effort do I make insuring that my relationship with God is also rich and wholesome? Please help me, Lord, use even my idle travel time to be in communion with you, making my requests known to you and thanking you for your bounty in my life. Amen.