Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 10/11

Photo by CP

I pass this corner 5-10 times a day, Lord,
but it was only this afternoon that I noticed
that (likely in the middle of the night)
you've been reaching down from heaven,
brush in hand, slowly painting
leaf by leaf and branch by branch
the trees that line my neighborhood's streets...

Some trees you've not yet touched, Lord,
nor do I know how or why you choose
one tree before another
-- or if the early ones rejoice in being first
or the later ones take pride
in extending summer's greenery...

You're the Divine Artist, Lord,
dipping your brush in the paints you use
to color every rainbow,
to tone a dark, foreboding sky,
to wash the ocean in a thousand blues,
to broad-brush the Grand Canyon's
coppery sunsets and sunrise gold...

But I hadn't noticed until today, Lord,
how busy you've been on my own street corner,
for the time being, your seasonal studio...

And this gives me pause and causes me to wonder:
when and how, in my deep sleep,
are you coloring my life with your grace;
anointing me in oils, limb by limb;
filling my emptiness
with the deep rich hues of your blessing;
contrasting and blending every shade
until, at last, in some small ways,
I more perfectly reflect the beauty
of who you are within me...

Give me good rest and deep sleep, Lord,
that you might color the canvas of my life
undisturbed by all my twists and turns...

And in the morning when I rise
open my eyes to the work you've done
and the artistry you share
in painting the life you've drawn for me...

Amen.


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