A prayer for the year that wasn't
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For the year that wasn't, let us pray: God of hope, restore our vision.
That humans recognize the dignity inherent in themselves and others ... God of hope, restore our vision.
That we cherish our floating blue marble and safeguard its resources ... God of hope, restore our vision.
That we commit to speaking kindly and living vulnerably ... God of hope, restore our vision.
That all lives -- especially those marginalized and colonized -- are recognized as sacred and treated with love, even if understanding is elusive ... God of hope, restore our vision.
That all bodies -- our singular vessels, our sole mode of transport, our soul skins -- receive water when they're thirsty, food when they're hungry, warmth when they're cold, security when they're threatened, and comfort when they're frightened ... God of hope, restore our vision.
That we listen to women, heed them, respect them, elevate them, and believe them ... God of hope, restore our vision.
That we abandon the hot take in favor of the slow simmer and reclaim critical thinking ... God of hope, restore our vision.
That we permit art to beckon and enrich us, to spark creative solutions ... God of hope, restore our vision.
That we remember all actions (including our own) have consequences ... God of hope, restore our vision.
I pray this prayer this year, any year, every year I live, for the act of life itself both tatters the promise and begs for its mending. Together may we stitch a new pattern and discover our seamlessness.
Prayer #330: A Prayer for the Year That Can Be
God who reaches beyond my words:
Help my hands offer more this year than they did the year before, this time to the point of true sacrifice.
Help me revel in gratitude for personal joys and have the generosity to celebrate the same for others.
Above all, help me dig a deeper well for hope and hit the rich vein I know courses beneath our troubled surface, so that we are doused by its optimism and roused to fresh action.
Amen.