Mid-week Prayer

God of Light and Love,

I am reminded this week just how quickly life can turn upside down, inside out.  I offer my prayer for those whose lives have been scrambled by heartache, accident, worry, or the crushing weight of the every day. Bring them comfort by whatever means they can accept it: a surgeon who stops to listen, a nurse's gentle touch, the smile of a stranger, a letter in a mailbox.

Guide me, I pray, to worry less about my own circumstances and concentrate more on the needs of others.  In that mindset, I know that my stresses and strains can be relieved.  Help me to remember that it's not my job to fix everything for everyone, but that where my gifts and talents intersect with their particular needs, I pray for the courage and energy to respond.

Thank you, God, for the many ways you have met me where I was: bereft at the bedside of my once-paralyzed dad, in the driver's seat at my wit's end with a non-verbal toddler, in deep conversation beloved friends. There are too many times to count, and for that abundance I am deeply grateful.

I pray for a good night's rest for a friend's injured parent, the stressed out, exhausted mamas in my circle, and for everyone in between.

With gratitude, I pray, Amen.