I, Me, and My

I wait upon the morning, the dawn that reminds me of your constancy, Holy Presence; light that follows darkness that follows light. And in my waiting, I know gratitude for sleep and rest, for waking to a new experience of life, for the encounters of the new day, for glimpses here and there of your faithful, abiding presence in everything. May I have courage today to face the things I know to be contrary to the life-giving message of Jesus, compassion for the suffering I will surely meet, and courage to “press on” beyond the limits life will impose. I pray for peace in this fractured world and for those who could make it happen if they would summon the will to follow the principles and values of The Way. I pray for leaders of all nations…all nations, the ones I call good and the ones I call bad. Why is it, God, that we know how to describe peace, make speeches about it, urge others to exhibit it, pray for it when we are not willing to actually do it? I feel the highway to cynicism is wide and the traffic is heavy. Please, Lord, don’t let me get lost in this maze of self-centeredness, greed and thirst for power. I declare, with confident faith, that Jesus is Lord and no one else. Now help me be strong enough to actually live those words into life.

Forgive me, God, for the things I have done that I don’t want to face, for the things I have left undone because I am afraid of the outcomes or consequences, and for my tendencies to look the other way when my sister or brother holds their hands out to me in suffering or need. And for thinking so often in “I or Me or My” words more than “you or us or we,” especially in my prayers. How are you today, God? How do you feel about the drama played out before you among the people and creation that you love so much? Don’t forget me, God, if I forget you during this day. I meant “us.” Amen