A Concord Pastor Comments: Monday Morning Offering: 3/4

Good morning, good God!

Well, in 48 hours
it will be Ash Wednesday...

I want,
actually I need, Lord,
for this to be a good Lent
- even a great Lent...

I need a new beginning,
a fresh start with you, Lord:
I need your help
to turn my heart around,
to head in a new direction
and to walk, always, at your side...

It's time for me to take a spiritual inventory:
to count my sins
and number your countless mercies....

I want to know the refreshment
of truly being at peace with you...

You offer me this time of grace, Lord,
a season my heart so dearly needs:
40 days of your compassion,
your understanding and your forgiveness...

And you know so well, Lord,
that I've been here before,
so many, many times...

As with my New Year's resolutions,
so my Lenten promises often fade away
- sometimes before Wednesday's ashes
are brushed from my brow...

So, I offer you my Lenten hope and pledge
and I ask your help, your grace,
to keep me faithful this Lent
to my prayer, my fasting
and my works of mercy...

Keep me modest in my promises
that this Lent I might, at last, be faithful -
even if only in a few small things...

And should I stumble and fail,
actually - when I stumble and fail,
I pray your Spirit will pick me up, dust me off,
and set me back on the path I pledged...

I offer you my ego, Lord,
and pray I take no pride in being faithful this Lent:
humble me with the power of your grace
and sustain in me what I can't do alone:
help me remember that without you
I can do nothing...

I offer you the 40 days ahead, Lord,
and pray you help me live this season
just one day at a time...

Help me to pray, a day at a time...
Help me to sacrifice, a day at a time...
Help me to be generous, a day at a time...

Walk with me this Lent, Lord,
and remind me each day
that this season is first my offering to you,
and then a grace for me
that my faith in you might grow...

Walk this Lenten path with me, Lord,
from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday...

I don't make this journey alone, Lord:
you are with me along with all your people,
my brothers and sisters who walk beside me,
behind me and before me, near and far,
around the corner and around the world...

One day at a time this Lent, Lord:
you and me, with your people, the Church,
in the grace of your Holy Spirit,
just one day at a time...

Amen.

Ash Wednesday Prep