Friends, nothing today feels easy. In fact, many of us, most of us, have never experienced times quite like these. I can’t pretend to have answers when all I have are questions. I can’t offer solace when I’m overwhelmed with pain. I can’t arrogantly amplify my voice when others have been silenced for too long.
So instead, I offer a poem, a prayer, that may speak to you as it did me. It is taken from a book of prayers called Ash & Starlight by Rev. Arianne Braithwaite Lehn. While the title, When I’m At The End of a Hard Week, speaks to the arrival of a specific time, I encourage you to broaden your definition of a “week” and let it represent the time you’re in today.
Guide of mind,
Companion of my heart…
You bring me gifts of solace and
encouragement at the close of another week.
Some events bruised my heart,
some discouraged my hopes,
some pierced me with panic,
some caused me to shut down…
And so, God, it is grace – it is gift – it is life –
that you welcome me with love,
meeting my soul in its most tender spot.
You come to me in my longing and my angst
as I process the week or wonder
how long I’ll face these circumstances.
When my temptation, gentle God,
is to ask, “When?” or, “How long?”
collect my breathing in a
centered rhythm absorbed
with this moment –
focused on you and your goodness.
Use all I’ve experienced this week, God,
to help me break open and bloom.
Amen.
