I wrote and posted this prayer on Sunday, May 4. Since then I’ve added a dozen additional examples of normalizing for reflection and consideration. In the revised text below, I’ve italicized the new additions.
deliver me from normalizing
the craziness all around me;
keep me from confusing and coming to accept
the lie for the truth,
the grotesque for the beautiful,
personal attack for political discourse,
pretense for integrity,
the one for the many,
self-interest for virtue,
pleasure for grace,
bravado for courage
the vulgar for good humor,
the villain for the hero,
duplicity for candor,
the profane for the sacred,
guilt for innocence,
betrayal for accommodation,
an insult for a joke,
rudeness as socially acceptable,
lawlessness for order,
the polluted as pure,
cruelty as justice,
foolishness for wisdom;
the crass for the refined,
arrogance as leadership,
the profane for the sacred,
lust for love,
greed as investment,
the obscene as art,
affectation for humility,
obsession for perseverance,
the foul as wholesome,
treason for patriotism,
the sham for the genuine,
the grifter for the giver
– evil for good…
Lord, deliver me from the lies
that distort and warp my vision;
deliver me from the fraud
that deceives and dupes my soul;
deliver me from the power
that arrests and checks my freedom;
deliver me from anything
that keeps me from your truth
and the power of your grace…
Deliver me, Lord, from every evil
and grant me peace in my own day;
by the help of your mercy,
keep me free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as I wait in grateful hope
until at last you come again
in wisdom, truth and power…
