Thursday, January 27, 2022

Death of Classmates


Lord,
she is... I mean... was my age, 
a high school classmate, 
a band friend
and now she's dead.

He was in the Presbyterian Student Group in college with me.
He had a great voice, an infectious laugh.
While we were never close, 
I have followed his career becoming an actor.
I looked forward to his posts on Facebook.
Now his voice is silenced in death.

Today news of another classmate.
Lord,
I am not ready to lose another one.
Mind you we were not good friends,
but I remember him.

Each classmate's death this week was sudden.
No warning.
Each reminds me just how fragile life is.
Each one, a mirror showing 
my own frailty, my mortality.

Lord,
I pray for their families...
for parents, children, spouses, friends,
and classmates like me
Left with a void, a silence.
Give comfort; give peace.
Give strength for living in the shadow of death.
Amen.

Friday, January 7, 2022

Crescent Moon

"And the moon is a sliver of silver
Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop"

Lord,
I love it when the moon 
is just "a sliver of silver."
Just a small portion
glowing from the light of the sun
the rest cloaked in the shadows of earth.

It is beautiful to me--
a promise of something more to come
like a lover's goodbye kiss.

In the waxing and waning of the moon,
in the growing shadows
when the moon goes dark,
I am reminded that 
even when I cannot see it,
even when shrouded in shadows,
the moon is still there.

Then the first crescent comes
a sickle of light slicing through the darkness,
a ray of hope shines.

Lord,
I find my prayers to you are like that...
I try to pray almost daily.
Sometimes short Help-me's;
other times prose and poetry flow.
Most often using a prayer app

In and out of the joys and the sorrows,
of the light and shadows of life,
prayer is a reminder of
your constant consistent presence in my life.
Even when I can't see,
you are still there.

Amen.

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

With Heart Held High

"So walk down this mountain
With your heart held high
Follow in the footsteps of your maker
With this love that's gone before you
And these people at your side
If you offer up your broken cup
You will taste the meaning of this life"
--chorus from "Walk Down This Mountain" by Bebo Norman



Lord,
I sing this song to myself and sometimes aloud
when I'm hiking in the mountains.

I find encouragement and strength for the journey ahead.
Having been to the mountaintop,
I return to ordinary life with renewed strength
following in the footsteps of my "Maker"
with the people of faith who walk daily beside me.

Lord,
I offer up to you 
the best that I have to give-- 
myself, a broken cup, a broken vessel--
trusting that you use me as I am.
That is the meaning of life -- 
to be used by you, Lord, for the good of the world.

So today, I walk with my heart held high
finding hope and encouragement 
for the days ahead
knowing that you lead the way
and I walk on in the midst of the great cloud of witnesses.
Amen.

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Reflecting and Grieving and a heart still beating

"Perhaps for now
it can be enough
to simply marvel
at the mystery
of how a heart
so broken
can go on beating"

Lord,
I am not ready to move on
to make New Year's Resolutions
and move into 2022...
I'm still grieving.

So much loss
so much sadness
so much death
so much

I see pictures posted on Facebook.
I turn the corner expecting them to be there.
I walk to their usual place to find it empty.
I reach for the phone to get sage advice,
but no, not this time.
Death has come.

Lord,
I know I am not alone in this.
The people I grieve for were members of other families
and members of my church family.

I see it in the faces.
The deep grief.
The loss.
Some are bold enough to say it.

And yet, our broken hearts keep beating.
Is it a betrayal of all the sadness we feel?
or is it a sign of resilience?

Lord, 
you knew grief too.
You know our sadness.
In grief, we are connected, 
even across deep divides. 
Fierce loss can forge fierce connections.
We are not alone.
Our broken hearts go on
beating out of your great love.
Amen.



_________
a few lines from "Blessing for the Brokenhearted" quoted from: