a prayer for hard times

Sometimes we fall on hard times. Sometimes there is little to lift our spirits. I have been through such times, too.

In times like that, I need a prayer. In fact, prayer is all I have left in times like that.

So, over the years, I've made it a habit to speak forth some prayers that come from an old Celtic tradition. I've found one particular prayer in this litany meaningful because it reminds me I'm not alone in feeling alone--that trials, poverty of spirit, feelings of weakness are normal, human, universal. It's a prayer that puts faith into perspective, defining trust as something that makes more sense when there's every reason to doubt. It puts light in the context of darkness and reminds me, "Redemption is at hand. There is cause to believe when everything around says, 'Stop believing.'" It is a prayer that incites the will to do as the psalmist says: "Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Perhaps this prayer can be a help to you, too.

Lord, You have always given
bread for the coming day;
and though I am poor,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
strength for the coming day;
and though I am weak,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
peace for the coming day;
and though of anxious heart,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always kept
me safe in trials;
and now, tried as I am,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always marked
the road for the coming day;
and though it may be hidden,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always lightened
this darkness of mine;
and though the night is here,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always spoken
when time was ripe;
and though you be silent now,
today I believe.

You can find this prayer and more prayers like it at http://northumbriacommunity.org/pray-the-daily-office/evening-prayer

I've gone through seasons where I'll recite this prayer every night. It's amazing how God becomes my refuge when I do. I invite you to do likewise.

the forest fierce

the forest fierce
a poem by Troy Cady and Alyssa Bustamante
in memory of Elizabeth Olten, nine years old


"It was ahmazing," she wrote.

the forest fierce pierces
breast, chest and lungs
vines lunge at her throat
sticks plunge plunge
the knife
strife takes a life young
as one
past midnight

It was ahmazing. As soon as you get over the
‘ohmygawd I can’t do this’ feeling,
it’s pretty enjoyable.

but nine days old
flung as a nested bird
but one ear heard
bleak chirps
from the dirt
for help me God

Miss Ouri was fifteen,
kinda nervous and shaky now
after the ‘ohmygawd I can’t do this’ feeling
passed. Penance was just the thing.
Go to church with those death-diseased eyes, Miss Ouri.

If I could give my life to bring her back, I would.

But “Nine, come play with me
among the fierce trees.”

No one hears
but the sharp branches
taking all chances
and the vines
strangling life-signs.
No one sees but God
and the grieving leaves,
fallen as tears,
piled atop the fearless
new-hatched
now bloodied.

Cover-up her body
in the fragile leaves
as premeditated killers
predecide to lie in church.

Pretend autumn trees can become unshed
and relive a prior spring.

Go bargain hunting in the king’s court.
Score a deal
three years since
for a lesser sentence
with only one
un
conjugated verb.

Let the diseased tree stand
with blood on her hands.

We are Miss Ouri.

interview on The Leader's Nook

My good friend Elizabeth de Smaele is a spiritual director who lives in The Netherlands. She has a great website filled with many resources! One section of her site is dedicated to the spiritual formation of those in leadership.

She interviewed me some days ago on the topics of conflict transformation and prayer. Part one of the interview is up on her site. I encourage you to check it out!

Here's the link:
http://www.deeper-devotion.net/conflict-transformation.html#1

an interesting date night with my honey

Heather and I had a date the other night that featured an interesting bit of dialogue.

I read a book fairly recently by the rabbi/psychologist Edwin Friedman that introduced me to some concepts related to healthy “family systems.” In the book Friedman describes the concept of differentiation.

So, the other night when Heather and I were on a date she went into a store called Tuesday Mornings and I went into Half-Priced Books next door. As we were going in, I said to her: “This is quite a date we’re having. You go one place and I go another.”

She replied: “That’s just because we’re well-differentiated, hon.”

I said: “I am so attracted to you for saying that right now.”

so ends a life

Today, for the first time in a long time, I read the Sunday paper from beginning to end.

I knew Joe Paterno had died this past week but was reminded today as I read his obituary on page 29:

"Joe Paterno, 85, former Penn State football coach, known as 'Joe Pa,' who won 409 Division 1 games and was fired in November amid a child sex abuse scandal; Jan. 22, in State College, Pa., of lung cancer."

His life was summed up in little more than one square inch of newsprint tucked in the middle of section two.

His major achievement: a prime number of victories. Whether one thinks him innocent or guilty, wise or foolish, he will forever be remembered as the coach with knowledge of sex abuse in his ranks.

It struck me: the sum of a life most often amounts to how it ends.

By contrast, Moses was a man who murdered another in the early years of his life. He fled and spent forty years as a shepherd, then was called by God to deliver his people from the hand of a cruel despot. His life, summed up in the following words:

"Now Moses was a very humble man...And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab...but to this day no one knows where his grave is. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days...Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face..."

So ends a life. So begins a memory and a legacy.