A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 1/31

I was surfing online, Lord,
and saw an ad for a clever little widget
and I thought - "Hey! I need one of those!"

It was, I'm sure, nothing save your grace
that stopped me in my tracks, prompting me to wonder,
"Do I really need that widget?"

It was your wisdom alone that led me
to ponder the difference between
things I want and things I really need...

In the universe of widgets, Lord
- there's not one I truly need.

I can, in fact, get by (quite nicely)
without a widget to my name:
each is dispensable and all together
- they just add up to so much clutter...

What, then, are the things I truly need?

And again, Lord, it was your wisdom,
no prudence on my part,
that led me to the question -
and some answers...

I need truth and clarity in my life, Lord,
I need the clarity of truth to help me discern
and discover the difference between what's real
and the sham and shimmer of widgets
and all the things that distract, deceive and seduce me...

And I need beauty in my life, Lord,
the beauty aglow in all that's true and pure,
congruent and whole,
natural and genuine.
I need the beauty in my life
that leads me far beyond momentary pleasure
and deep into joy that endures, satisfies and sustains...

I need you in my life, Lord,
and I need you not just on Sundays or now and then
but all day long and through the night,
seven days a week, year in, year out.
I need you in my life, Lord,
I need you right in my face and by my side and at my back.
I need you in every nook and cranny of my mind and heart,
in the shadows and sunshine of the whole of my being:
in my present, in my past, in my memories and my dreams...

And all these, Lord, are but some of things I need...

Give me the wisdom and grace then, Lord,
to discern and discover the difference
between all the things I want
- and what I truly need...

Amen.