September 7, 2022
“I Actually Had to Bundle Up a Bit”: A Prayer
O Lord, I actually had to bundle up a bit, one morning
late last week,
temperature in the 60s,
humidity in the 50s,
a slight chill in the air,
so I actually had to bundle up a bit,
as I sat on our deck;
but then
I’m always cold these days, freezing
in the doctor’s office,
in the produce section,
at home when the air conditioning set low,
blanket covering my propped-up feet;
and yet still,
felt so good,
that morning, air
clean and clear and crisp,
promise of days to come,
days of staggering beauty,
fall days,
paradoxical days,
everything dying away, yet
me coming to life, days
refreshing,
reviving,
rejuvenating, days
revivifying,
resurrecting
me,
and how I
needed it,
that morning;
woke up
tired,
low energy,
no energy,
stale, flat,
for some reason,
tired physically,
tired mentally,
tired emotionally; maybe
immunotherapy catching up with me; maybe
something else going on,
like going to doctor after doctor after doctor,
short appointments,
long days,
strength sapping;
or maybe
tired of political ads attacking,
tired of unending ugliness,
tired of the anger in the air,
tired of the violence and chaos and being afraid,
tired of Megan Markle
(Hey, if she and the red-headed guy want some
privacy, then get off social media and
shut up!),
hope sapping:
or maybe
bored,
bored with treadmill treading,
(Sorry, pal, gotta do it),
bored with politicians
(Pouting again, are we?),
bored with celebrities
(Talk about yawn),
bored with newsreaders opining
(Really, who cares what they think?),
bored with pompous people pontificating
(Know-it-alls knowing nothing),
joy sapping;
how I
needed
that morning,
because I
needed
resurrecting,
my spirit resurrected,
by the promise of the days to come,
by the unexpected beauty of the morning,
by the chill in the air,
actually having to bundle up a bit.
And the thing is, Lord, I’m not the only one, plenty of people
waking up tired, tired
physically,
mentally,
emotionally;
maybe tired of
illness;
maybe tired of
all that’s going on;
maybe tired of
life,
what life has become;
maybe tired of
being bored, bored
with what
life has become;
bored
with being
bored;
needing
to be
refreshed,
rejuvenated,
resurrected.
O Lord, grace the coming paradoxical days of fall with
crisp breezes that refresh our spirits, the
staggering beauty of leaves and sky and sun
that revives our souls,
pregnant clouds ready to birth winter,
reminding us of the dying going on
all around us,
reminding us too of
resurrection,
death not having last word,
life having last word,
life after life,
life beyond winter’s death;
Lord, let the days
refresh,
revive,
resurrect
our faith,
and help us
to feel
your love,
your presence,
your strength,
in the breeze and beauty and brilliance of the days, even
in the clouds of winter, and
experience energy enough
to come out of our
stupor and boredom, and
give hope to others, and
enjoy
whatever life we have.
O Lord, once again we come before you, asking you and
bothering you and pestering you;
asking you to
heal those who are ill,
be with those who are dying,
comfort those who are grieving;
bothering you about those
who are struggling,
who are at the end of their rope,
who have nowhere to turn, that you
uphold them,
strengthen them,
show them a way; and
pestering you about
the hungry and homeless and refugees,
peace in the Ukraine and Middle East and Africa,
violence and evil and suffering, that
you would do something, that
you would get us to do something, that
you and we together would get something done.
O Lord, I actually had to bundle up a bit, one morning
late last week
and it was wonderful,
because I sat there
bundled up with your presence;
faith wrapped around me like a
warm, worn coat;
hope, like a gentle, cool breeze
clearing away
my weariness
and bringing a
smile to my face, a
September morning
Easter morning.
Resurrection.
Amen.