God, our master storyteller whose epic saga stretches to infinity, help us to do the work of healing in our own lives and in the world so that the next generations can be a little freer– for we do not see the ripples our lives make, but you know their significance and are always leading us toward the arc of love– if we pay attention.
2 Peter 3: 8-9 Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.
Ephesians 4: 14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.
All expansive God, one who sees all and whose hands and heart are always open– help me surrender all my defense mechanisms to you. Help me to recognize all the ways I am closed off to you, to the world. Begin to open my heart, and turn my whole being toward you, for that is what it means to live in faith– trusting every part of me to you, allowing myself to receive the grace you so long to give.
Psalm 139: 1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too–your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful–I can’t take it all in!
Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything yo do, everywhere you go; he’s the one will keep you on track.
Isaiah 30: 18 But God’s not finished. He’s waiting around to be gracious to you. He’s gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right—everything. Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.
Master potter, brilliant creator, I have hidden myself within the lump of clay. Chip away at my false beliefs and defense mechanisms. Sculpt me into the form you desire, the beautiful, precious essence of me you dreamed up and placed in the world– for I yearn to emerge.
Isaiah 64:8 Still, God, you are our Father. We’re the clay and you’re our potter: All of us are what you made us.
God of silence, teach me to quiet myself and listen deeply to you– for it is in the silence and stillness that you hold me.
1 Kings 19: 11-13 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
Our master gardener, train me on the trellis in which I should grow. Show me where to extend and deepen my roots. Show me where to reach out my new tendrils, grasping on tight through the storms and the droughts– for I want to be healthy and bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17: 7-8 “But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,the woman who sticks with God. They’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers—never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.
Matthew 13: 23 “The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”
John 15: 16 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.”
Our creator, one who crafted our intricate bodies, help us to live at home in them. Help us to release fear, anxiety, envy, shame, the need to control with every breath out and to welcome love, joy, gratitude, wonder, openness with every breath in because what we hold in our bodies matters– for they are your living sanctuaries.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.
All wise teacher, thank you for the guides you place in our lives. We ask that you would give us ears to hear, eyes to see, hearts to feel, minds to be open, and bodies to know the lessons you gift us– if we pay attention– for you are ever teaching.
Matthew 13: 16-17 But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.
Proverbs 20: 12 Ears that hear and eyes that see– we get our basic equipment from God!
Ever present creator, help me receive the gift of presence, of pausing to look for your holiness in each moment– in the patter of my toddler’s wobbly footsteps, her waving hello to the dog, the trees, the geese, the creek, the chicken eggs, the neighbors, the grass, the mud, the sky, the world– your presence is everywhere.
Galatians 5:22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
God of Moses, God of the exiled, your love is strong for the immigrant, the refugee those fleeing violence, oppression, poverty those searching for safety, provision, opportunity. I pray for an open heart and open hands, ready to share ready to welcome your people, for that is your way– the way of love.
Deuteronomy10:17-18 God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.
Hebrews 13:1-2 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!
Jesus, you know all, and yet you call us into relationship with questions and curiosity. You know but don’t assume. May we leave our assumptions and our agendas by the wayside. May we bring questions and curiosity and deep listening into relationships with others, because that is how we begin to see and know with love.
John 5: 1-9 Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.” Jesus said, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off.
Mark 5:30-35 At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” His disciples said, “What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you’re asking, ‘Who touched me?’ Dozens have touched you!” But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”
John 4:3-14 So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee. To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon. A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus aid, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.) The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.) Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.” The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?” Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”
Our Master Gardener, 