A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 6/14

For today's Pause for Prayer, spend some time with Pat Schneider's poem and with my reflection. Then, just look around you to find and be grateful to God for the "patience of ordinary things..."

The Patience of Ordinary Things

It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they're supposed to be.
I've been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?

- Pat Schneider

I'm grateful, Lord, for the ordinary things in my life...

For the patience of time while healing my wounds,
for the patience of tears as they wash away pain,
for the patience of mercy forgiving old hurts:
I praise you, Lord, and thank you...

For the sweetness of water slaking my thirst,
for the kiss of the sun on a warm summer's day,
for fresh snow sparkling on a cold winter's morn:
I praise you, Lord, and thank you...

For the joyful peace of making new friends,
for meeting again a friend from the past,
for the bittersweet grace of remembering old loves:
I praise you, Lord, and thank you...

For the dance of a leaf as it falls from a tree,
for the touch of rain falling soft on my face,
for the mystery of moonlight catching my eye:
I praise you, Lord, and thank you...

For the hand of a child reaching for mine,
for a hand on my shoulder giving me strength,
for your hand's touch on my heart and my life:
I praise you, Lord, and I thank you...

Amen.