Monday Morning Offering: 9/8

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

You know, Lord,
I try so hard to say and write
the right things
but despite all my best efforts
my words can often miss their mark
and, even worse, can end up hurting
just where I had hoped to heal...

Sometimes my aim at honesty
yields lessons in humility:
I'm grateful for the schooling
but I grieve the cost to those at whose expense
my learning comes...

Sometimes my best intentions
fall apart in my own hands
but I can't see just how or when
or why it's all gone wrong:
but oh, I know it can
and yes, I know it does...

So this morning, Lord, I offer up
my garbled words
and any harm they've done;
I pray you'll touch with healing
any unintended hurt I've caused...

I offer up my good intentions, Lord,
help me see them as they are,
discerning what is selfish from the selfless,
'til I speak and write with words that truly help...

I offer you my foolish pride
tempting me to think
(and too often to believe)
that I am always right and never wrong...

I confess all my mistakes, Lord:
the ones I failed to see,
the ones I should have seen
and the ones I didn't see
until too late..

For your pardon, Lord, I pray
and for the healing of any
whom my words have harmed or hurt...

Good God of Monday mornings,
bless with peace and gentle care
the words I speak and write
this day, tonight
and through the week ahead...

Amen.

 

     
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