Tag Archives: Prayer

A Prayer for the Shock of Grief

03 Tuesday Oct 2017

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IMG_4395Impromptu God who goes with our flow- it’s time to figure out life beyond the state of shock.

Dad’s not here right now. Or for the rest of my life. Honestly, that is a long time to live with this hole.

He will be missing every boring detail and peaks of joys that I experience.

But here I am with the sheet of shock that surrounds me melting. And as the fading layer grows thinner and thinner, my reality grows clearer.

God, may these flashes of reality and shots of grief be manageable. May I take 15 minutes at a time without him instead of looking at the next ten or twenty or thirty or forty years.

And thank you for the 44 years I had with him.

Amen.

A Prayer When I Want to Scream Out My Grief

29 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by in grief, Life, Pop

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woman-2377068_1920God, whose presence vibrates between my vocal chords,
Yesterday, I wanted to SCREAM.

I’m not exactly sure what possessed my soul to enter the shadows-
I was standing in the glue aisle at the craft store-
But in that moment of retail therapy
All I wanted to do was scream!
And cry!
And stomp my feet!
And jump up and down!

Glue-shopping usually doesn’t do this to people – nor to me.
But my inner two year old was wrestling with the things I can no longer have.

It wasn’t the first time I was in a craft store after Dad had passed.
Nor was it the first time I was buying adhesives.
But as evening was swallowing the day
Grief swallowed my emotional boundaries.

God, may my screams be internal.
May they not be eternal.
May my desire for screams melt into tears.

And if I need to scream-
Help me to find a serene open space that will welcome my vocal punches.

Amen.

*****

My father passed away on September 18, 2017 after a sudden illness. In the coming days, more prayers and posts which I’ve written recently or that I will be writing will be included on this blog.

A Prayer in Grief’s Mental Haze

27 Wednesday Sep 2017

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God of the details, of the inspired work we do-

My mind churns overtime to focus harder on the words others say. But the mists of grief dampen my thoughts. I sense that my brain has turned into a bowl of oatmeal or pea soup.

Through this haze that hovers around my head, give me the clarity to focus on what needs to be completed today.

And whatever mistakes I make or whatever lacks completion, gift me grace until tomorrow… when, hopefully, the fog will be less intense and more rays of the sun will trickle through.

Amen.

*****

My father expectedly passed away on September 18, 2017. In the coming days, more prayers and posts which I’ve written recently or that I will be writing will be included on this blog.

A Labor Day Prayer

02 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Holidays, Pop, Social Media

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God of our coming in and going out: this world which was originally designed by you is beautiful but has spiritually rotated away from your intentions. We have been given the assignment of work, but there are workplaces corrupted by unfair practices. From harassments to unequal pay, from limited benefits to wages that can’t support families, labor and earnings are difficult subjects for us to face.

So we remember the workers who are harassed and bullied at work. Give them the courage to stand up for what is right. Give them new opppetunies when workplace harassment is abusive.

We remember the workers who desire to be hired but who have been overlooked because of who they are. We pray for them as they endure discrimination.

We remember the workers who do not make livable or equal wages. May they be strong and courageous in standing up for what they need, and may we create systems where wages are fair.

We remember the workers who cannot find jobs. May they find work that not only sustains their homes but sustains their souls, and may they feel dignity as they continue on the journey of searching.

We remember those who have been laid off. Keep their spirits and confidence high hat they may find work in the immediate future.

We remember the workers who feel stuck in their positions.  Create a sense of newness in their current jobs or allow them to see a new path on which to travel.

We remember those who can no longer work due to disability. May they find avenues in which they find purpose even when their bodies and minds are in pain.

We remember those who are retired. May this current chapter in their lives create opportunities which bring them joy.

We remember the parents who stay at home caring for their children. Give them renewal in their work whether it’s cooking, carpooling, or wrapping their arms around their sick child.

We remember those whose work places them in harm’s way and ask for their protection.

May we each realize our own power and use this power to serve the world, not to serve ourselves. May we see you, God, as we walk down hallways, eat in cafeterias, join in contentious meetings, try something new, or look towards retirement.

Amen.

An Eclipse Day Prayer

21 Monday Aug 2017

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God of blazing beams and unsettling shadows,
As the moon obstructs the light of day
And gifts us a midday nighttime,
Give us the much needed illumination for our souls.

We ask that in this eerie midday spectacular
We can see you in the shadows of day.
We ask that in this eerie season of multiple spiritual eclipses
That your light can rip off the biases and prejudices that blanket our hearts.

Make this weekday intermission one where we come together despite divisions
And celebrate the totality of darkness instead of wrapping ourselves in fear.
We know that darkness is as light and bright and beautiful to you, God.
Transform our hearts to see darkness as a gift and necessity to our world.

As the sights in the sky pass from one end of our country to the other
May it bless the land with peace.
May it bless the people with understanding of one another.
And may it beam love as it travels from north to south and west to east.

May this majestic and fearful apocalyptic-esque dance in the sky
Be one that unites us – even for the afternoon.
Let us set aside differences just for the day
And bask in the slivers of glow under this postmeridian phenomenon.

Amen.

A Prayer for the Flare

07 Monday Aug 2017

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For my friends in the “Spoonie,” or chronic illness, community…

God who rides the roller coaster of life with us,
There are times we endure a flare of our subpar health.

Sometimes the flare lasts a day or an hour.
But during that time we experience our own agony-
Our own hell on earth.

Twinges and spasms and aches and overcoming pains keep us silent and still
When all we want to do is move.

Just last night our bodies were cooperating,
And today they revolt against us.

God, our bodies have driven our lives to the land of unpredictability.
We no longer have “spoons” or battery power or energy to keep moving throughout this day-
But we’ll keep pushing as long as we need.

So we turn to you.

If you can refill our cup so that we feel strong again, fill the cup.
If you can rearrange our schedule so that we don’t feel guilty about resting, rearrange the schedule with a touch of your grace.
If all you can do is sit with us in our pain, we are grateful for your presence.

We look forward to the time when our batteries are at 100% again and we can move about our days.

Amen.

A Post-Synod Prayer

06 Thursday Jul 2017

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God who fits into the spaces that seem too small to exist,
The demon of exhaustion has embedded into my soul after the past week.
What a gathering of our denomination with its highs and lows!
Gathering information. And more information. Wrestling with your call, Dear Holy.
Knowing that we all have so much work to do.

Now we are home.
Now we resume everyday life.
Now we try to infuse the ideal into the normal,
To marry the theoretical and practical-
If that is possible.

God of all connections and spaces,
I miss my friends,
My support, my kin.
Like the disciples, we have scattered across the miles-
From California to Connecticut and beyond.

So here in the silence of everyday life,
I give thanks for the extraordinary days,
The exciting conversations,
The laughs that lasted for hours,
And the friendships that will last forever.
Amen.

An Extrovert in Hell

30 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Life, Pop

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“Why am I back to my room so early,” I asked myself. “I should be out socializing with someone. I wonder what everyone else is doing? Could it be I should have gone to the one mixer or another?”

It really wasn’t that early. Ten o’clock at night. Most people would be craving time to themselves at a later hour. But the extrovert finds their batteries charged when being around other people.

This is me tonight. Here I am- needing to get up at 7 and go all day tomorrow. I’ve been going over 10 hours today.  But this extrovert finds missing out on social occasions to be hell.

When it comes down to it, I’m tired. My body needs rest. Dear Michelle: it’s perfectly fine to miss a social event to spend quiet time with a book, blogging, or sleeping. It’s time to find balance to my day.

A prayer for the extrovert in hell:

God of the gaps and empty spaces, including the sabbath hours and silent seconds, quiet the hearts and minds of extroverts yearning for more time with people. Help us find strength in our alone moments as much as our social time. Give us peace when we are out of our element… like being solo and finding ourselves surrounded only by the sounds of humming air conditioners.

Amen.

A Prayer on the Summer Solstice

21 Wednesday Jun 2017

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Creator God, Divine Designer of the solar and lunar lights:

The day has arrived when the sun has reached its peak tenure. We rejoice under its light, its persistence in brightening our world. Day has delayed its departure.

For the long days and 9pm sunsets, we give gratitude, God.

Holy One who gifted us the Summer Solstice, create a desire in us to give this day our all and time to pause in the abiding daylight. Delay our time in the shadows.

The night will creep into the days demanding its mornings and evenings for itself.

We know that our uplifted moods of this Solstice will be quite different as the winter one rolls around.

So today we do what we can to grasp the fleeting daylight and delight under the sun, to celebrate your presence in our lives no matter the season, and to love one another on these long summer days.

Amen.

A Prayer for World Refugee Day

20 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Current Events, National Day Prayers, Pop, Social Justice

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God who encircles our earth in every moment,
 Shine your light on our Holy Siblings who are refugees.
Whether they abide in Europe or the Middle East or Asia or Africa,
May they find stability and stamina in their storms,
Finding love as they seek basic care.
In their diaspora, may they reach the place where they can vision a new heaven and earth
And build a home in their exile, a dwelling of their new dreams.

Nudge us as we drift to sleep
 And neglect the stories of refugees-
The stories of abused, scared, famished ones made in your image.
Wake us when we forget that your son Jesus was a refugee-
An infant in the arms of his parents seeking safety.
Stir us when we forget that the Israelites were in the wilderness too
Escaping the powers-that-be that desired them dead.

We celebrate those who have gone before us whose resilience helped them find new life:
 Our grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles who were refugees
Lived only on a dream and carried great faith in the small bag packed for their trip-
A journey of an indefinite length to an unidentified city with strange people and scents and flavors.

May peace prevail across our world.
 And when peace is lacking,
Let us open our doors to the many people who hurt
Delivering the hospitality of Christ to all God’s children.

Amen.

*****

Please check out these two links:

The Refugee

Azad’s Story