Tag Archives: trauma

A Prayer for September 11

12 Sunday Sep 2021

Posted by in Current Events, Prayers

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Divine Balm of Healing,

Today we remember the beautiful September morning
when the sky became filled with soot,
when terror robbed the joy of our neighbors.

The ones who relive trauma day after day from those scenes
and the ones whose hearts still ache from their loss
never live far from our minds.

May beautiful stories open for the children who never knew their parents
and may the widows and widowers find the gentle rains of peace.

May the first responders who struggle with ongoing health issues find the healing they need,
and may we remember the ones who died since that September day in 2001.

May we work with our neighbors of all faiths, races, perspectives, abilities, orientations, and identities
to craft a world where Divine love reigns, where justice heals, and where mercy unites.

May we labor together to build a world where hate lives no more,
where words of malice fall away,
where actions of brutality dissipate,
and where terrorism and genocide and oppression have no home.

May our country and every other nation find blessings,
and may we be a blessing to those within our nation and our neighbors across this earth.

Amen.

A Prayer for the Ones Not Believed

21 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by in Life, Pop, Prayers

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DF9B4F19-B887-4D73-84EB-1A6D4B6CE86FGod of the vocal cords and facial expressions and gestures…

Sometimes there are times when we remain quiet in our trauma. Sometimes we wonder if our words matter and our bravery will transcend injustice.

But most of the time we remember the experience when our words evaporated quickly after attempting to express ourselves.

Do we say anything if we know it will fall on closed ears? And the tougher question with which to wrestle is this: what if they turn it around and the blame falls on us?

We become the Eves and the Gomers and the Jezebels when we assert our value. And we think to ourselves “why bother???”

So when we are questioned years later as to why we remained silent, hopefully they will understand. Hopefully.

(You understand this God, right?)

A slow triumph- the stories are emerging. They linger longer and fill our world with much-needed discomfort.

And through you, Holy Narrative, we find our voices. Your strength and courage deliver us from trauma to peace and from injustice to righteousness.

I believe the stories. You believe them too, God.

Let’s do this.

Amen.

A Prayer As I Embrace Grief’s Journey

18 Wednesday Oct 2017

Posted by in grief, Life, Pop

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IMG_4914God, it appears that I’m making it. I rise each day, take care of what is needed, find healthy ways to express myself.

So I pass grief with flying colors, right?

Not exactly.

I’ll be fine until I see a photo or have a memory or listen to a song from 1975. I’ll be relaxed until something – like a drive or a conversation – takes me back to that chilly September morning. I’ll be traveling home and the warming sunset reminds me of his love of photographing dusks.

Then my heart shudders with the notion that I won’t see him again on this side of heaven. My brain slides back into a dense fog as it tries to protect my soul from intense feelings of loss. My body aches from the heaviness that comes with this extra emotional weight.

And I am reminded again that grief is always a lifelong journey. Completion of this process doesn’t happen here. It’s not a destination. Overcoming it will never happen. There is nothing to win, and I will not get a medal when surviving.

And yet, I’m making it. Fifteen minutes at a time, God, we are making it. For that unremarkable significant victory, I am grateful.

Amen.