Monday Morning Offering - 98

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

You know, Lord,
sometimes it's just the little things
that really get to me
so this morning I offer you some of the "little things"
and pray for your healing and your help...

I offer you the little disappointments
that can can sidetrack my day and distract me
from much larger concerns,
more important responsibilities...
Heal my perspective, Lord:
don't let me sweat the small stuff;
help me to grow up
when I act like a child because things didn't go my way,
because I didn't get my way...

I offer you the bumps in my road:
the ones that slow me down
but need not bring me to a full stop...
No road is perfectly smooth, Lord,
and sometimes I need to be slowed down:
keep me from using the bumps as an excuse to bow out,
help me keep moving over the rough spots and pot holes
even when I want to call it quits...

I offer you the small setbacks
that keep me from changing my life (and the world!)
in a day...
Help me learn from the things that hold me back,
to find a lesson in the u-turns that slow me down...
Heal the proud thought that I've nothing left to learn
and teach me something in everything
that doesn't go my way...

I offer you the little losses I suffer each day, Lord:
the molehills of failure I see as mountains of defeat:
heal the perfectionism that keeps me
from owning my own mistakes for what they are
and no more than that;
heal the self-judgment that blinds me to victory
when my shortfalls are all I will look at...

I offer you my day, Lord, and all it's little problems,
the ones that can really get to me...

Open my eyes: let me see and help me learn
it's not all about me, Lord!

Open my heart
to the disappointments of others
whose needs are so much greater than mine...

Help me lend a strong and guiding hand
to those who struggle to walk much rougher roads...

Help me keep an eye on my goal
and to lead others onward and upward when they are lost...

Help me keep account of your gifts and your grace
and to share them with others
in need of what you've offered me...

Heal my tunnel vision, Lord,
and my self-centered view:
let me see the big picture of my life
and of the lives of those around me...

When I'm troubled by the small things:
give me wisdom to know what truly matters,
counsel to weigh my problems wisely,
knowledge to deal with them as a believer would
and courage to do what I must do...

Don't let the "little things" get to me, Lord:
don't let them get between you and me
or between me and my brothers and sisters...

This is my prayer this morning, Lord,
and all this day and all this week...

Amen.


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