Friday, June 24, 2016

Dear God,

You put us in places to remind us to pray.  You put us with people to remind us to care.  You put us in situations to remind us we are part and parcel of one another.

Today we learned Britain voted to leave the European Union.  Sitting in the middle of Ireland where people are anxious about what happens in Britain, we listened to their concerns and we prayed.  We watched the news where young people from Britain expressed their doubts and fears and we prayed.  We imagined how this historic decision might alter world events and we prayed.

On this vacation to England and Ireland, we have observed the people as they celebrated wins in soccer and we celebrated with them.  We attended a concert where we listened to stories and we sang Irish tunes together.  We listened closely to song lyrics where we learned about the suffering of Irish people during the horrible famine in the 1920's.  We talked with people like clerks in stores, servers in restaurants, and people we have met from other countries.  We shared together the state of our world and how what happens in one country impacts all other nations.  While we acknowledged our fears, we also spoke of faith and so we prayed once again for all your people.

Wondrous God,
thank you
for gentle reminders
that you
have created
one world
and one people.
You have
made us
brother and sister,
one family.
You have
given us hearts
to love
one another.
Daily you
give us opportunity
to pray,
to love,
and to reach out.
Thank you
for prayer
that keeps us one.

Love, Andrea