Lent is a time, in the quiet, in the stillness,
to review my life with its all its failings and blessings:
a time to take a personal inventory of how I have loved
or failed to love those whose paths cross my mine...
Sometimes I forget that the people along my path
are as fragile or even more fragile than, often, I am...
If I look to my past I remember those
whose hearts I've hurt, saddened and even betrayed,
by my haste, my selfishness, my carelessness...
More often than not, I hadn’t intended any harm
but my neglect and self-interest bruised and burdened others...
O Lord, if there are ways for me to make amends here,
show me how and give me the courage
to do what I need to do…
If the time or circumstances for making amends
have passed me by,
hear my prayer for those I've hurt,
whose hearts I've bruised and broken...
Open my eyes and ears, my mind and my heart
to those around me now, Lord...
Wake me to their presence and their needs:
keep gentle the ways in which my life touches theirs...
Nudge me to take the first step towards making peace
in my family, my neighborhood, at work and at school...
Lord, give me a sensitive and forgiving heart:
help me remember how much, how often,
how fully and how freely you've forgiven me...
And give me the grace to gently touch
the hearts of those I've hurt,
the hearts of all I know and love,
the hearts of all I'll meet today...
Amen.
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