A Concord Pastor Comments: NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 2/9

Cold and chill, bless the Lord,
   frost and chill, bless the Lord,
       hoarfrost and snow, bless the Lord.
Praise and exalt him above all forever...
   (Daniel 3:67)

As you well know, Lord:

I have a hard time finding blessings

in the cold, the frost and the snow!

I just don't like the cold,

and the snow gets in my way:
it slows me down, disrupts my life
and narrows every path...

But this past weekend, Lord,

I found a pure and awesome beauty

waiting in the snow:

I saw it out my window

and right by my back door

and in the groves of trees behind

and all around the church...

And then I found this photo, Lord,

posted by a friend...

(click on the image for a larger version)

Photo © Helen Maguire Newman

Your winter mystery, Lord:

a filigree of beauty,

frosted in a holy haze

inviting me to reach, to touch,

to shiver in your presence

'til your Spirit's warm embrace

melts my heart in mercy's arms...

Your winter glory, Lord:

etched in lacy, barren limbs,

veiled above the river's mirror,

muted in the morning mist,

stilled in silver silence:

a January sanctuary

hushed and filled with grace...

Help me find your hidden blessings
in this frigid time of year
when warmth is all I long for

what I pray for and desire...

Help me find your blessings, Lord,
in whatever weather comes,
in the blasts that chill my nights and days,

   in seasons long and cold...

Help me bless you, Lord, and praise you
    in each season of the year,
help me find your holy presence
   in the seasons of my soul...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

and guard me while I sleep

that awake, I keep the watch with you

and sleep safe in your peace...

Amen.

Tonight's music is instrumental, background for musing

on the ways, all the ways, God's beauty is found in nature.

If there's snow on the ground where you live, you might

look out the window while listening - and if you live in a

warmer clime, use the time to reflect on the photo above

(that's the Assabet River in Concord, MA or the one just

below the video...