June 7, 2023
“Finally, Finally, Finally:”A Prayer
O Lord, finally, finally, finally, got vital vitamin D fix,
sun sunning fix,
rays radiating fix;
delicious day on the deck,
brilliant blue sky beaming,
no clouds covering
sun;
wind chimes
chiming in the breeze,
clinking in the wind,
clanking in the gusts gusting;
baby bluebirds cheeping, chirping, chirruping,
hungry, mama and papa with
breakfast in beaks for brood,
sneaking, streaking, speeding
by me, behind me, to
feed new family;
beautiful blooms blooming,
much smaller array than years past, but
still stunning, still splendid, still spectacular,
roses exploding with joy,
mandevilla blossoms trumpeting,
hanging basket cascading color;
peace;
place,
holy place,
the place
where
feel Spirit
more than any other
place;
where
thoughts fashioned,
sermons written,
prayers penned
for me;
where
time slows down,
hours stretch out,
day softly sets
with sigh;
can almost
touch time,
hold hour in hand,
smell scented sun’s setting;
and if I had my way, would be
the place
where
I would die,
surrounded by family,
soaking up sunshine shining,
savoring warmth warming,
slipping away into
sweet sleep;
where
no TV turned on,
no CNN, no Fox, no Mama June
(unbearable thought, that last words heard
any words from any of them); and
no tubes,
no machines,
no strangers;
peace.
O Lord, you know what keeps me awake some nights,
not fear,
but feeling
not fully appreciated the day,
not fully realized life every moment,
not fully took in all that was there;
when maybe less days left
than once thought
(but then
all of us have less days left than think), want to
approach each day like approach
eating my Tillamook Oregon
strawberry ice cream,
no shoveling it in fast,
no inhaling it in quickly,
no gulping it down hurriedly,
but
savoring each bite,
savoring each spoonful,
savoring each taste,
saying,
“Mmm, that’s good!”
again and again,
scooping up
last little left,
Heaven on earth;
and the one place I know where I can
savor a day is
on our deck, or better,
at the beach, and that’s
what I need, what Kitty needs, what we need,
need to get to a beach,
while
still can,
still enjoy,
still time;
Rosemary Beach will do,
but Siesta Key won’t do
(ruined, thanks social media),
Cabo can no longer do;
need to get to a beach,
watch the waves,
listen to the waves,
hear the waves,
nightly serenade rocking me to sleep;
need to get to a beach,
resurrection
this side of
resurrection,
sun savored,
Son savored.
And that is my prayer, O Lord, not just for myself, but for
all of us, that
all of us would learn to
realize life as we live it, every moment; that
all of us would learn to
savor life every day, even if
illness plagues us, death stalks us,
grief overwhelms us; that
all of us would learn to say,
“Mmm, that’s good!”
no matter how bad
it gets;
that
all of us
would learn to find
the grace and mercy that is there in a day,
the healing and hope that is there in each day,
the joy and gladness that is there in any day;
that
all of us
would have
a holy place,
maybe not a
sun-drenched deck or sun-soaked beach, but
some place
where
little or nothing separates us
from you, your Spirit, your love.
And we pray, O Lord, that you would heal, strengthen,
comfort, console, and lift in hope all who are
battling disease, suffering and hurting, dying,
grieving, lost or alone and the hungry
the homeless, refugees everywhere.
Be with them and move us to be there for them in
whatever way we can.
O Lord, finally, finally, finally, got my vital vitamin D fix,
which means my heart now
firmly fixed on you, so fixed
that even if can’t make it to
the beach
(and
have our hearts become
even more firmly fixed on you),
it would be enough that you would grace us with
imagination enough to imagine
our deck to be overlooking a beach
so that when 4:00 rolls around and the
popcorn is popped and lovely libations mixed,
we can raise our glasses to
sun,
sea,
sky,
and
to you,
to love,
to life,
and say,
“Mmm, that’s good!”
Amen