A Concord Pastor Comments: Monday Morning Offering: April 29

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

Sometimes, Lord,
when I look at the day ahead of me
I wonder and worry
how I'm going to make my way to its end...

My schedule’s too full, I don’t see any breaks,
the agenda’s on the heavy side,
got some meeting’s I’d rather skip –
and I’m still tired from yesterday!

Sometimes I look at the week or the month ahead
and wonder how I'll get from here to there,
to the other side of what seems immovable,
impassable, impossible...

I let my worry about tomorrow
quickly fill the day at hand
and I forget that I’ve been here many times before
and I have survived and, with your help,
I have succeeded or learned to live
with my mistakes and failures…

But day after day, week after week
I do get on, Lord, I make it to tomorrow,
no matter how slowly the day,
the week, the month -even the hour- may pass,
I get there...

And when I look back on the path I've walked,
I see so often how the journey seems shorter, simpler, safer
than what I imagined it to be at its beginning
and in the middle of it…

Your grace has brought me safe thus far, Lord,
and I trust your grace will see me through this day,
this night, this week, this month – this hour…

Help me remember, Lord, at this day's start,
and as I survey the days and weeks ahead of me,
help me remember,
when even the next minute seems too much to bear,
help me remember that my passage will be safe,
my burdens lighter
and the length of my day halved
when I look for and find you
in my heart, in my prayer and by my side...

I offer you this day, Lord,
and every hour, every minute, every second in it...

I offer you the hours and days,
the weeks and months ahead of me
over which I’m powerless:
I entrust my time and my hopes and fears
to your powerful and loving hand
and to your Spirit’s wisdom guiding my every step…

Help me trust that in your company
I'll come to this day's end, next Sunday's rest,
and to seasons changing
safe and secure in your presence
and in your peace…

I offer you my memories of hours, days, weeks,
months and years I thought I'd not survive but did…

I pray that you refresh within my soul the courage I need
to live my life a day at a time, an hour at a time,
secure in your strong and loving arms...

Keep me mindful, Lord,
of so many others who also stand before this day
unsure of where it will lead and take them:
help us to be understanding and gentle with one another,
offering support where it's needed,
accepting others' help when when it's offered...

I offer you this day, Lord,
as long or short as it may seem
and trust that this day's end
will find me by your side
and you by mine...

Amen.