Take, Lord, and receive. It is not so
much about asking God to take but finally being in a space where we are
prepared, eager, and trusting enough to give. This only comes after a
recognition of all that has been given to us in our lives, from nature and
creatures to our families, to deep friendships, these are graces we have
received to get through hard times, and moments of consolation. We can be overwhelmed
with gratitude.
All my liberty. Free will is the greatest gift we are given, even before we are
born. God has graciously allowed us to
discern our direction and welcomed us back when we didn’t make very good
decisions. But beyond limited understandings of freedom is a way of
freedom in serving God and doing only the loving thing. The freedom we truly seek is when we turn over
our liberty to God’s will.
My memory. All of us have a
past that we look back on, mostly with fondness. And yet, there are
thousands of moments of consolation not remembered, but that still shaped us.
Those moments made us who we are for this moment, and this moment is the only
one that matters. We may also recognize that our memories are filled with
resentments and regrets that spin in our heads and have become a barrier to
feeling and sharing the love of God. Please, dear God, we definitely
don’t need those anymore.
My understanding. Our present. Our worldview is very limited. We may recognize, despite years of life experience, we know nothing before the Infinite Wisdom of God. The worst is when we insist in our minds that we are right about this moment and withhold compassion and love for another, because we think our understanding must rule the day. Good Lord, take my understanding when it is not helping us to do your will. What we need is to see the world and others and life with your understanding.
My entire will. My future. We may
have learned very quickly on this pilgrimage called life that any sense of
control of the future is laughable. Like our understanding, our will is so
flawed and limited by our little worldview. Finally, through trials and tribulations
may we see that God’s will for our life will always be superior. Dear
God, help us to live in the present, for we know not what the future holds.
All that I have and possess. We think
possessions give us security, but anything can be lost, broken, or
destroyed in an instant, and still we will be who we are. Our true security
comes only from recognizing that God possesses us.
You, Lord, have given all that to me. I now
give it back to you, O Lord. All of it is yours. Dispose of it according to
your will. We give it all freely
in total trust that God knows far better than we do how to manage it. Our only
job is to discern how to navigate each moment using all of the gifts given us
and not becoming attached to any of them.
Give me only your love and your grace, for
that is enough for me. That is the
recognition that we are a part of the Infinite Love embodied in Jesus. In that,
we are all connected to each other and the sacred world we have been given. And
having the grace—the strength, the courage, the wisdom, the compassion, or
whatever gift of the Spirit I need—to get through whatever is coming down the
road is all any of us truly needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment