Wednesday, April 17, 2013

My dearest God,

I couldn't stop staring at the white cloth wrapped around the arms of the tall, dark brown cross.  In the monastery for morning prayer, I looked up to see the cross and I was taken by the words implicit in the cloth.  Restored, renewed, reconciled, reborn, remade.  Somehow the lovely white cloth revealed a stronger power than the power of the cross to kill.  Like the scent of a newborn baby, the cloth spelled out love in its rawest form.

So often, O Lord, we see dead ends around us.  We see hopelessness and despair because we see only impossibility.  The cross of Jesus, your son, was seemingly a dead end, a final answer.  But it was not!  He showed us, you showed us proof of divine love greater than any power to destroy.

Whenever there is great tragedy, I fall backward into your arms searching for truth, help, guidance, love, and faith.  I pray not for you to be with us but for us to drop back into your waiting arms as close as breath.  In your embrace we pick up our breathing knowing the air we breathe is sacred because you are in the air all around us.  You are the air, the oxygen that gives life.  In the midst of death we find ourselves breathing life.  We gain our equilibrium and strength to move forward in trust and hope.

O God,
help us
not lose hope
when we witness
the power
of death
to destroy.
When we lose
our footing,
help us regain
a foothold
on life.
Help us remember
the power
of faith
to overcome
the power
of evil
in the world.
Help us
draw close
to you
and one another,
our sisters
and brothers
upon this
good earth
you have made.
Teach us
the way
to breathe
the air
of eternal life
every moment
of every day.
Raise us up
to fulfill
your promises,
I pray.

Love, Andrea