Spring is Sap time.

This is a picture of my uncle working in the sap house that he has spent years tending.  

As a child, spring meant mud and time at the sap house.  I remember my mothers homemade donuts dipped in warm, fresh maple syrup.  I also remember the big rubber boots that we called, mud boots, that were traditional wear for that time of year.  

We would head across the road from my grandmothers house.  The road was moist and very muddy.  Sometimes, we would take a step and our feet would go far into the mud . When we went to take the next step only our stocking covered foot came to the surface.  As kids, we thought this was the most fun.  

Spring is a time that is fresh with new beginnings.  The buds really will start to come out on the tress, and crocus will  eventually feel sure enough of the weather to poke through the soil.  

Lent begins when the days are still short and the snow covers the ground.  Most years, the hope is that by Easter we can see green.  The days are longer and the air will change.  

This has been a long winter, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.  The days are longer and there is more light.  We have two weeks of lent and Holy Week ahead of us.  Jesus journey to the cross is approaching.  How are we going to prepare?  What are we preparing for? 

In the picture above, my uncle is carrying wood for the stove.  No new fangled gadgets there.  Preparation.  

Wood provides the heat necessary for the sap to boil.  Someone must gather the wood, someone must feed the fire.  Someone must prepare the cook top.  Preparation.  

Buckets hang from trees.  Each one has a spicket that is hammered into the tree and a clear substance flows out, when the weather corporates.  It must be cold at night and warm during the day.  The buckets need to be hung.  Preparation.  

Holy Week and Easter are times in our tradition when we are invited into the life of Jesus.  We are invited into the story that is foundational to how we make meaning of our lives.   Jesus has spent time and attention trying to prepare the disciples, trying to prepare us for the truth of this story.  

When the preparation is done, the work begins.  On a regular basis, someone must go around and gather all the sap from the buckets.  Someone must hope and pray that all has gone well and there will be something to gather.  Each bucket is dumped into a large container.  

When one small person stands alone, sometimes life can feel overwhelming, but when we gather together, when we come together, we remember we are far more together than we are alone.  

Daily gathering of the sap, driving from tree to tree, somedays getting more than others is the patient discipline required to make maple syrup.  Patient, daily discipline of showing up to each tree, each day, for whatever it has to offer that day.  

Lent is a time of reflection and prayer.  A time to push back some of the cob webs and dirt that may have gotten in our way.  A time when we can reflect on the light that is God's grace within us.  It is a time to remember the gift that Jesus gave us.  It is a time to remember Jesus life, death and resurrection.  

The smell inside the sap house is sweet and special.  The air outside is still chilly and when you enter, the heat and smell of the wood stove, welcomes you in.  

Outside the building there is a big container that holds the sap that is collected.  The operation is set up so that it comes in and runs into the boiler.  I do not remember the way it all worked, I just remember seeing the sap go from clear to that beautiful golden brown.  I remember the smell, and the donuts.  

A life of faith calls us to prepare room for God to be present in our lives.  We pay particular attention to that during Advent.  Lent is the time when we open up the doors to the space and wonder where we've been.  Lent is the time we remember how important the cross, those hard and painful times are.  Lent is the time we remember that God is always with us.  How can we prepare yet again to do the work God is calling us to do?  

Spring is coming.  The buckets are up and some people are boiling.  You will be hearing about Holy Week and opportunities to worship. Preparation continues in whatever lenten practices you have taken on.  Remember that preparation, time and attention are all ingredients for a rich life of faith.

Remember just as the trees need to be visited every day, and the bucket emptied of whatever it has to offer that day, so must we spend time with God each day.  God welcomes whatever we can offer that day, with praise and thanksgiving.  

Pilgrimage

 " A pilgrimage is a journey undertaken in the light of a story.  A great event has happened; the pilgrim hears the reports and goes in search of the evidence, aspiring to be an eyewitness.  The pilgrim seeks not only to confirm the experience of others first hand but to be changed by the experience." 

Paul Elie, 

The Life you Save May Be Your Own.  

Years ago I received a gift certificate for Barnes and Noble Bookstores.  One of my favorite things in the world are books.  Books that tells stories, either real or imagined.  Books that take me to someplace I have yet to visit.  Books that help me attach language to my experience in life.  Books of any kind.  

The most wonderful thing about this gift was that I was able to walk into this favorite store and pick out the book of my choice and take it home.  As I write this, it sounds like a very young child is speaking.  But, I was not a young child.  I was a grown woman, yet this really was how it felt.  

This was a time in my life when my children were young, my life was in the midst of much change and money was sparse.  The freedom to choose a special book felt very luxurious.  What would I choose?  

"A pilgrimage is a journey undertaken in the light of a story." 

As I wandered into this familiar store, I can see in my minds eye the setting.  My daughter who also loves books and did from a very young age, was with me.  We had a long standing pattern.  She would go off to the children's section, I would wander to the religion or spirituality section.  Each looking forward to the time to explore the books, the worlds that awaited us.  I had promised her that we would both be able to take a book home.  What would we choose? 

Lent is a time when we are asked to be self reflective.  We are asked to look at our story and honestly share with God what we know. We are also invited to ask God for help in those places that feel hard.  

"A great event has happened; the pilgrim hears the reports and goes in search of the evidence, aspiring to be an eyewitness. "

This day was a day like so many, the story of my life was unfolding and I had no idea where it was taking me.  My call to ministry had been affirmed by my congregation and my Bishop.  I was in seminary and  had two small children.  This pilgrim knew that God was calling, knew that the longing for God would not let up.  But what on earth was I supposed to do?  I have always looked for answers, confirmation or direction in the written word.  On this day I wander, yet again, into the religion section of this familiar place.  

The title of the book jumped out at me very quickly.  The Life You Save May Be Your Own, by Paul Elie.  I pulled it out of the stacks and as was my practice sat down near by.  As I opened the pages I was transported into the lives of four very different people.  This book weaves the lives of Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy and Flannery O'Conner together.  Each of these people were faithful pilgrims and became devote catholics.  Each suffered much and found their faith and meaning in God and the written word.  

We are each pilgrims and we are each exploring  our relationship with God from the place of our own specific story.  But the most wonderful thing about God is that each of our individual stories intersect, each of our lives are part of the larger story that is of God.  

Many years have passed since my daughter and I left that store, each with a new treasure.  I read the first quarter of the book and it is adorned with many highlights and words in the margins.  But never finished.  At the beginning of Lent this year, I decided that I wanted to read the book again and finish it this time. 

Listening to books in some form has become something I really love.  I can listen in my car, on walks or anytime.  I decided that I would listen to these stories being told.  What a blessing.  I am already far passed my stopping point the last time.  But, as I write this, I smile and think, I am much further down the path of my own journey than I was when I first picked up the book.  

  

"The pilgrim seeks not only to confirm the experience of others first hand but to be changed by the experience." 

I invite you to think of yourself as a pilgrim.  What has been your story and how have others helped you along the way?  People we know and people we will never meet change our lives.  We are changed when we enter into the practice of paying attention, of listening to the lives around us.  We are changed when we experience our lives as one individual, yet part of a larger story.  

"Pilgrims often make the journey in company, but each must be changed individually; they must see for themselves, each with his or her own eyes.  And as they return to ordinary life the pilgrims must tell others what they saw, recasting the story in their own terms."

As christians our faith is formed in response to the story of Jesus life, death and resurrection.  As this time of year, we are called to remember that story in very real and personal ways.  Jesus came and taught, lived and died so that we could enter into that story and make it our own.  

It is powerful to reflect on all the changes and blessings that have been significant to my faith in the time since I first picked up this book. God continues to tell the story through each of us.  

As we enter the second week of Lent, what is your story?  Is there someone's life that has been a particular inspiration to you?  

Hello pilgrim, we are on this journey together, you are not alone.  But your story, your life, is yours, its special.  

Your invited.

"I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the 

observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; 

by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and 

meditating on God's Holy Word."

BCP pg. 265

The snow yesterday was blowing here and there.  It really did not accumulate very much, but just as we thought it might stop, it began again.  A dusting of white fluffy snow covered the way ahead.  People gathered at noon and in the evening to pray, receive the imposition of ashes and the Eucharist.  During this service we were invited into a Holy Lent.  We were invited to a time of self- reflection and action.  

It is often very helpful for me to remember that Jesus repeatedly went off by himself to pray.  In the midst of what seemed like crisis or stress, he turned to prayer.  In times of celebration and blessing, he turned to prayer.  

"Lent is a pilgrimage which Christ personally invites us to make.  The journey is not an adventure for tourists who wish to capture snapshots of spiritual insight, but rather an invitation which comes from Christ and draws us to Christ.  What is unique about this personal invitation is that Christ invites us to make a journey that he himself has already made.  It is the nature of his grace not merely to call us from outside, but actually to draw us from within."    

Steve  Purcell

Let us remember that the forty days of Lent is fashioned after Jesus forty days in the wilderness.  He took himself into the desert for forty days and forty nights to prepare himself emotionally and spiritually for his ministry and for all that his life would hold.  How are we prepared emotionally and spiritually for our ministry?  How are we prepared for our path ahead? 

Our Lenten practice could be approached from 3 different perspectives.  We turn to look at ourselves and our life; at our relationship with God; and at our relationships with others.  If we only focus on one of these areas we fall short of the full experience God is calling us to.  

We are invited into this time, not just to watch and stand at the sidelines, but to  actively participate.  We are not called to take "snapshots" of others, as that is not our story.  We are called to pull away, find those places in our lives that are empty or worn and pray for God's help and guidance.  We may also pull away and find the many blessings that can get lost in day to day life.  Allow time to slow down and be.  

Secondly, we are invited to look at our life with God.  What is our prayer life like?  What are the many things that compete for God's attention in our lives?  Are we able to remember those things that are prayerful?  Writing, reading, walking, yoga, painting or taking photographs, are all forms of prayer.  

Lastly, we are invited to look outward.  If we only engage this time as one of self-reflection it can easily become one of self- absorption.  We are created in God's image, we are created to be the instruments in the world God most needs us to be.  To do that we need to take precious care of who we are, and the instrument God has given us.  We then need to go out in the world and follow Jesus's example.  How are we able to see our neighbor, how do we see those in need?  How are we responding to Jesus's message of love and service?  

The sun is out this day and it is very cold.  The snow has stopped blowing and a new day has begun. Welcome to this new day.  Give thanks and blessings for the invitation.  No need to RSVP, just come as you are.  

What would the prayer be?

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and

 forgive the sins of all who are penitent: 

Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,

 that we, worthily lamenting our sins 

and acknowledging our wretchedness, 

may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, 

perfect remission and forgiveness; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives 

and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

 one God, for ever 

and ever. Amen.

BCP Pg. 264

This is the opening prayer from the Ash Wednesday Service.   As I was reading it some particular words jumped out at me.  Penitent, contrite, lament and wretchedness.  There are many things that cause people to want to shy away or outright leave the church.  Words can stand in the way of being open, or for some, hearing the message at all.  These are challenging and for some, mean or punitive words.  But are they really?  

We live in a time where self loathing and self absorption lead many to feelings of emptiness and loss.  Learning and growing must come through lived experience.  With God’s help, we must be able to learn and grow  when we wander off the path, act in a way that does not serve us, or others around us.  

“Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals.  Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start.”  BCP 829

Judgement and criticism are painful at best.  It is particularly damaging when done through the lens of religion.  We are children of God, created in God’s image.  We are taught to follow Christ and the lessons shared in scripture.  When we make mistakes or bad decisions we are overcome with shame and guilt.   Many are left feeling they will never be able to live up to these expectations.  How could God love us?   What can we do? 

"Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have  made "

Lent has come and gone in my life many times.  I have never before heard the first words of the opening prayer.  God hates nothing God has made.  Nothing.  So where does that leave us?  Let’s look at the words of this ancient prayer. 

Penitent means a feeling or showing of sorrow or regret for having done something wrong.   If we remind ourselves of that, the prayer might go like this: 

Gracious God, you love all that you created.  In your infinite mercy you forgive us when you see us feeling sad and sorry when we have made mistakes.  

It is appropriate for us to feel sad and regretful when we have made decisions that hurt ourselves, those we love or the world around us.  God created us as human beings, not divine beings.  We are going to look outside ourselves to fill a place inside that only God's love can fill.  

The only way we are able to come to know this, is to be able to admit our wrongs, admit when we have made a mistake and know that  God loves us.  God can only show us that love when we show our feelings of sorrow or regret.  

Contrite is another word that feels very hard. But after I spent some time with it, that began to change.  It is an adjective, a word that describes something.  Contrite means feelings of guilt or remorse.  Being affected by guilt. 

"Create and

make in us new and contrite hearts,"

If we live in a world where we are never able to make mistakes or be wrong, whether for fear of judgment or self loathing, how can we express our grief or sorrow?  But, it is these feeling of guilt and sadness that keep us up at night, or lead us to reach for any number of things that we know aren't good for us.  How could the prayer go? 

Help us know that when we share with you our guilt

 and pain, we will be made new.  

Help us remember you hate nothing you have made.  

"Worthily lamenting our sins."   The tough religious language continues.  But does it?  

Scripture is filled with psalms and prayers of lament.  This is a word that we do not use in our everyday language.  But we say prayers and sing songs of lament all the time.  Lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.  When our hearts are broken and we don't know where to turn we write, pray,sing or  paint.  When our hearts are broken we share with someone that loves us and cares about our loss.  When our hearts are broken we share our pain with God.  How might the prayer look? 

God, you know me and love me.  You know when I get

 lost how very much I miss you.  

God, only you love me to wholeness and light.  

God, I have made many mistakes and wandered away from you.  

God, help me to feel the healing power of your forgiveness.  

Now we get to the really hard part, "acknowledging our wretchedness."  The word wretchedness has always felt like a very shameful word.  For some it can feel like handing over power or putting ones self down unreasonably.  I admit to being very surprised when I looked up the definition of wretchedness.  It is misery, a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune.  Really?  

When I am sick with worry or guilt, I really do feel sick.  Physically, I know that something is wrong.  Wretchedness is not a description of who I am, it is a description of how I feel if I am ill of spirit.  If my heart and soul are hurt at a deep level, I feel awful.  What happens when I admit my illness?  What happens when I admit to needing help?  What would the prayer look like?

Gracious God, I need your help.  My feelings of guilt and

 pain have taken over me.  I can't let them go.  

Gracious God, Help me to know your love and forgiveness.  

Help me to heal and grow toward health and wholeness.  

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent.  On that day I hope you find a service where you are able to pray these words and words of your own.  On that day know that the ashes on your forehead mark you as Christ's own, yet again.  

What is Hidden?

"Many of us do not know our own story.  The story about who we are, not about what we have done.  What we have faced to build what we have built, what we have drawn upon and risked to do it, what we have felt, thought, feared, and discovered through the events of our lives.  What we have learned."  

Rachel Naomi Remen, MD.

At the base of those birch trees in the picture above is a bench.  Under the many inches of snow, is a granite bench that I see each time I head down this path.  The bench is almost hidden, as is the saying that is carved on in.  

"Let your Song be Sung" 

It is a beautiful winter day here in New Hampshire. It would be so easy to be  sick of the snow.  I am not saying, that I'm not, but on this day, it is really beautiful.  Growing up in New England makes a big difference I'm sure.  Bundling up and heading out to clear off the walk and wander through the new fallen snow is a ritual I claim from my childhood.  

Rachel Naomi Remen wrote a wonderful book, Kitchen Table Wisdom.  One of the many themes of her work is the telling of stories.  In years gone by, people would gather around tables, share food, and tell stories.  

Fryeburg, Maine is where I grew up.  Many of you may know Fryeburg as the home of the Fryeburg Fair.  But in addition to my memories of the fair, are memories of walking the many sidewalks with my mother.  As we walked she would tell me about her day, we would talk about mine.  It was quiet and peaceful.  

My mother was not a person that sat still easily.  She was brought up by a woman who always needed to be doing something productive.  Both women were wonderful cooks and each had their own ways of being creative and nurturing their families. They knit and loved the fiber arts and passed that on to me. I grew up as the oldest daughter and grand daughter in this family.  

My story is unique.  They would be baffled at many of the things that I find fun or creative.  Telling stories and writing in a blog or in an electronic Newsletter.  Taking pictures on a phone that is also a computer, and then uploading those pictures to Facebook.  I can hear them ask, "What is a blog?  Why would you do that?  How is that fun?"  

My story is the same.  I love to knit and create things with yarn and fabric.  Cooking is one of the things I love and it is one of the things that causes me to feel closer to my mother.  Her recipe for Shredded Wheat Bread is still a family favorite.  I find ways in my world to be creative and nurture my family.  The story continues through walks, recipes, and yes, typing.  

My story is both unique and very much the same.  What is your story?  What are things in your life today that you value that are threads of your past?  What are things in your life today that bring you joy that are uniquely yours? 

The story that each of us has is unique and special.  We grew up with others that influenced who we are today.  Some were brought up in the country, some the city.  What story would you tell at the kitchen table? 

Each of us has a story that continues to unfold.  We are living, breathing instruments of God's grace in the world.  We may not always feel that way.  We may not know how our lives could matter in the big picture, or certainly to God, but it does.  

What is your story?  Is there something hidden? 

"Let your song be sung."  

Stay warm and know that Spring is coming!

Why "Thirst"?

Why "Thirst"? 

The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside

Our Church: The Eucharist

Mary Oliver

"Something has happened

to the bread

and the wine.

They have been blessed.

What now?

The body leans forward

to receive the gift

from the priest's hand,

then the chalice.

They are something else now

from what they were

before this began.

I want

to see Jesus,

maybe in the clouds

or on the shore,

just walking,

beautiful man

and clearly

someone else

besides.

On the hard days

I ask myself

if I ever will.

also there are times

my body whispers to me

that I have. “

Mary Oliver is the author of this poem.  It comes from her recent book called Thirst.  When I first picked up the book, I found myself wondering about the title.

Why Thirst?

Mary Oliver is the author of many books.  She finds a way through her poetry to 

find the sacred intersection of the natural world and the sacred.  We inhabit a 

world created by something much larger than ourselves.  There is much around us that is "man" made and yet it's very origin is beyond our understanding(or at least mine).

Why Thirst?

Yet, having that knowledge does not change my desire to know and understand.  The God that is central to my way of being often manifests itself as a longing for something just beyond my reach.

"Something has happened

to the bread

and the wine.

They have been blessed.

What now?

The body leans forward”

The body leans forward, the body leans to meet that longing that is just beyond 

our reach.  The body is thirsty.  The body looks to have that thirst, that longing

satisfied.

Jesus knew that he was about to leave as he sat around the table with friends.  

In my imagination, I think of Jesus asking God, what to do next.  "How, God, how

 am I to let them know that I will be with them always? How can I help them remember? How can I give them a tangible sign that the longing they feel is for you?  How can I help them quench that thirst?  How, God? “

Jesus finishes this prayer and sits back in his chair.  He lifts his cup of wine

 and takes a sip.  With a big sigh he looks around.  As is so often true with God,

the answer comes.  We are nourished by bread and water.  We gather with others in remembrance that God is always with us.

Why Thirst?

"They are something else now

from what they were

before this began. “

Jesus stands to speak to those gathered around the table.  As he looks around the room, each man was looking at him, waiting…….

Jesus reached for a loaf of bread, the bread that they had shared on this night 

and many before.  He held it up and their gaze followed.  He prayed words of Thanksgiving and blessing to God.  He broke it in half, holding it out in front of him, he looked directly at each person gathered there.  "We have spent this time together.  You have seen healing, miracles, and God's grace on this journey.  I have been your leader, your teacher, but I am leaving soon.  You must remember and carry on this work.  I know it will be hard and you will feel lost and alone.  I am here to help you remember.  I am here to remind you of that longing, that thirst that can only be filled with……

"This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”

Take, eat, be nourished on the bread that is my body, so that you will never forget. Try not to forget me and know that I am always with you.

Jesus puts the bread down on a plate, the plate just like all the others.   He leans

over and picks up his cup of wine.  Those gathered around the table watch his every move.  There is no way they can know the significance of this moment, or these words. 

Jesus lifts the cup and prays.  Prayers of Thanksgiving and invocation to a God that will be the grace needed to hold this all together.  Jesus takes the cup and

looks at each person at that table.  You will thirst for me when I am gone.  There

will be days when you are not sure of what you saw, or will not remember this night. There will be days when it may seem to be too much.  On those days take this cup,this wine, and know that it is now changed to the blood, my blood, that I am about to shed for you.  I do this so you are reminded how very blessed and loved you are. You are loved and forgiven by the God who made you.  You are loved and forgiven by the God that calls you God's own.  Whenever you thirst, drink from this cup,and remember me.

"On the hard days

I ask myself

if I every will.

also there are times

my body whispers to me

that I have. "

Why Mary Oliver used the title Thirst for her collection of poems, I don't know.

  But her poem about the Eucharist names our thirst for that something larger than ourselves and describes the mystery that is God's presence among us.

Why Thirst?

We thirst for the love of God and the comfort of knowing we are not alone.

Addiction

"The path of descent is the path of transformation.  Darkness ,failure, relapse, death, and roundedness are our primary teachers, rather than idea or doctrines. "

Richard  Rohr

The view out the window that I show above is a beautiful one.  The snow  falls, the roads and parking lot are peaceful.  A fresh blanket  covers all of yesterdays dirt , sand and salt.  There is a deep sense of quiet.  

This week we heard of yet another actor that's life came to an end  due to drug addiction. James Seyour Hoffman died  at  46 years old.  It is said that he struggled with addiction since the age of 22.  

This week I enjoyed lunch with my son who is working on an Ambulance  in the state of Maine.  He talked about the increased number of deaths by heroin in the last year.  He talked about the devastating road Heroin leads people down.  He talked about powerlessness. 

I was recently in a conversation with someone  that has watched their husband, a smart, clever, successful man, lose everything, including his marriage, to Heroin.  This person delivered food to an abandoned building so he would have food.  This person drove home crying.   

NPR reports: 

"Drug overdoses have plagued New Hampshire for years, and until recently their leading cause was prescription medication, namely methadone and oxycodone.

It's not anymore.

Deaths last year from heroin - 38 - outpaced those from any other drug, according to Dr. Thomas Andrew, the state's chief medical examiner. And for the past two years, he said, heroin accounted for the most deaths from overdoses of a single drug."

Why do I write about this?  How did I get from peace and beauty to the devastating and painful realities of addiction?  I got here because we each have that vulnerable place within us, that craves acceptance and peace.  I got here  because we must not close our eyes to the reality of this painful  disease.  

 

As a community of faith we gather together around the common belief that God is at the center of our lives.  We gather with the ever present hope that we can be there for each other and the world.  We gather together to hold each other and empower each other to make the world a place of meaning and  purpose.  One aspect of that work is not turning a blind eye to things in our midst that are breaking or broken.  

Heroin addiction is something that happens to other people.  Addiction can happen to anyone. Many of us know the empty feeling in the soul that nothing can fill.  We live in a world that tells us that if you take a pill, or use some substance outside yourself, that loneliness, self-loathing or that  lost feeling will go away.  We live in a world that is a place of joy and pain, a place of peace and turmoil, a place of hard work and rest.  We live ......

"Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee. "

St. Augustine

The snow rests beautifully on the land in front of us.  It is beautiful today and yet, will soon be changed.  How are we changed when we long for God's love to fill those places in our soul that long for some rest?  

Addiction is a disease that we cannot treat with will power alone.  It is not a disease that we can treat for someone else.  Addiction is a disease that runs in families and affects all of us.  Heroin is in the

 news right now.  It has become the current killer of many.  

I write this so that we can be aware.  There is help available for those that are struggling with addiction or those that love someone who is.  We have  an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting here at St. John's on Thursday evening. 

There is a prayer in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous called the Third Step prayer.  The Third Step is one of 12 that are the basis for recovery in Twelve Step Programs.  

Step Three

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over 

to the care of God as we understood Him."

  

The following is a prayer that can help us to this:

The Third Step Prayer

from page 63 of the Big Book of

 Alcoholics Anonymous

God, I offer myself to Thee-
To build with me
and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties,
that victory over them may bear witness
to those I would help of Thy Power,
Thy Love, and Thy Way of life.
May I do Thy will always!

We pray each week that God help us with those things that get in our way of being the people God most needs us to be.  We pray that God take away our sins.  We pray to be "relieved of the bondage of self."  We pray these things each time we say the "Lord's Prayer." 

As we look out of our windows on this day, we will each see a different landscape.  But we each long for a God that is there to walk this life with us.  We long to not be alone and empty.  Let us pray for those we love that struggle with addiction.  Let us pray for ourselves as we too struggle with the temptations that promise us peace and escape.  Let us pray to be released from the Bondage of fear and hopelessness.