Thursday, December 12, 2013

Dear God,

Teach me compassion, O Lord.  When I look outside my room, I joyfully witness a wintry scene, cold, snowy, and beautiful.  Yet, the homeless know no such thing.  They are cold, without shelter, a warm bed, or a hot meal. How can I fully appreciate my favorite season when it causes so much disruption to far too many?

I cannot allow myself to create a reality where I am at the center living inside my own world.  I cannot forget those who do not share in the same abundance I do.  Although I do not consider myself wealthy by any stretch, I do have to confess I have creature comforts that give me safety, security, and a sense of spiritual well being. I have done nothing to earn these.  I am not favored or special in any way.  So how do I make sense of a life that I enjoy with so many whose very existence is fragile?

As I prayed in bed before rising this morning I thanked you for the snow for I love it so but just as quickly as the words came out of my mouth those who are cold came to my mind.  I could not frolic in my mind because I thought of children, mothers, fathers, the elderly, the handicapped, the lost, and the incapacitated and suddenly my scene changed.

Teach me
the way
of compassion,
O Lord;
show me
how to
meaningfully care
for others.
Make me restless
when I
get too comfortable
and forget
my neighbor
near and far.
Thank you
for life lessons
that come early
in the morning.

Love, Andrea