Monday Morning Offering - 25

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

Well, there are only 10 shopping days left ‘til your birthday, Lord…

Gotta start thinking
about what to get "for the God who has everything."
After all - you’re the One who made everything!

So, what can I give you?

What could you possibly want from me?

I know… I know...

What you want from me
are the things I hang on to, cling to,
the things I don’t want to let go of,
the things that get in the way between you and me…

Well, these presents aren’t going to be tied up pretty
in wrapping paper and bows
but for your birthday I want to offer you
the things I have that I know I need to give to you…

So, I offer you the ways, Lord,
I keep myself from accepting your love for me…

I offer you
all the times I downplay and deny
my gifts and talents...
I offer you my resistance to seeing
the wonderful human being you made me to be…
Help me to believe that you take delight in me,
that in your eyes I am a person of value and worth...

Lord, I offer you my envy
and all the ways I focus on what others have
and all the times I forget what you have given me…
Keep me from jealous thoughts
and open my eyes to the treasures
I have at my fingertips…

I offer you my sense of humor, Lord:
help me to laugh at myself
especially when I take myself too seriously…

I offer you my moody sulks
when I banish myself to a lonely corner
and sit and feel sorry for myself…
Rescue me from those traps, Lord,
and draw me out of myself and into your arms…

I offer you my better instincts, Lord
my graced intuitions,
the ones I so easily dismiss
when I mistrust my own judgment…
Give me courage to speak and to act
on the truth I know within…

I offer you the best of who I am,
the person you created me to be,
the unique individual you knew and loved
even before I was knit in my mother’s womb…

I offer you the unknown, untried, unused portions
of my heart, my soul, my mind, my imagination:
make of me the person you intended, Lord,
and use my life to touch others
as others’ lives touch mine…

I offer you anything that makes me believe, Lord,
that I have nothing to offer
or that what I have to offer is not worthy of you…
Let the light of your advent shine on me
and show me every gift you’ve given me, large and small,
and especially the gift of your love…

I offer you anything and everything
that keeps me from knowing
how much you love me, Lord
and how precious I am in your eyes…

And, Lord – help me to see in others
the precious beauty you see in them, too…

Amen.
-ConcordPastor