A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 10/16

It's hard to believe, Lord,
that I'm writing tomorrow morning's Pause for Prayer,
sitting out on my porch in my sweats,
no jacket or coat, no flannel shirt,
enjoying a relatively balmy Monday evening,
half way through October...

On a number of recent days and on many nights I've thought,
"Well that's it for porch sitting, the weather has turned..."

But then comes an atmospheric rearrangement
and everything, if only for a spell, turns back
and I'm given a reprieve, a break, a gift,
a blessing of mildness,
rekindling memories in my soul
what I find so hard to just let go...

Tonight it's warm enough for porch time:
the streets shimmer a silver sheen
left by a shower, just an hour ago;
and your Spirit sings in branches above,
a million autumn leaves brushing in time
before rushing to fall...

This reprieve reminds me of you, Lord:
your love knows no season's bounds;
your heart's fire never fails to warm us
in season and out;
there is no end and indeed, no beginning
to your love for us - it is eternal...

Fall may put summer's haze to rest
and winter drain the autumn palette
of its vibrant hues and subtle tones
but there is no season's change in you...

In you, Lord, there's but one season,
the season of grace:
when the mercy is forever,
and peace is everlasting;
when the light has conquered darkness
so the clocks are never changed;
when the leaves never fall
and the frost never bites,
when the sun never burns,
the winds do no harm,
the rain never floods,
the clouds never darken,
the lightning never strikes
and where the life and joy of springtime
spring eternal from your heart
to fill our own...

So this night, this reprieve puts me in mind of you, Lord,
for your love has no cycles
never changes, never ends,
it springs eternal in one season,
the season of your grace...

Amen.