Image: George Mendoza
Good morning, good God!
I lift up to you this morning, Lord,
some things that get in my way
as I try to grow in faith…
I offer you the disappointment I experience
when you don’t do just what I want you to do
– and in the way I want you to do it;
help me remember
that you’re not my servant,
but that I am yours…
I offer you my impatience
when I think you respond too slowly
and the doubts I have
when I fear that you’re not listening:
help me trust that you hear my every prayer
that you answer me in a hundred ways
I might miss, ignore or reject
– when I’m only open to my way…
I offer you my envy, Lord,
when I fret about what I don’t have
and my stubbornness, too,
when I refuse to be happy
unless it’s all on my terms:
open my eyes to the gifts I do have
and to the many blessings I’ve received,
to the peace and joy you’ve readied for me
to discover, enjoy and share…
I offer you my hopelessness, Lord,
when my life’s like the wind
and I fear I’ll never again find joy;
help me trust
that your love is better than life,
that my hope in you is never in vain
that my restless heart will find rest in you…
Help me trust when I cannot find you
that you’re still and always right by my side;
that even when I feel abandoned,
I’m held in the palm of your hand;
that when I’m just too weak to keep going
your arm reaches out to lift me up;
that when I find myself most vulnerable
you shield me with love everlasting…
I lift up to you this morning, Lord,
the things that get in my way
as I try to grow in faith;
draw me out of myself
and into your heart,
your way, your truth and your life…
Amen.
