SEVEN PRAYERSFOR EVERYDAY
Withgratitudetomy chevruta,Mickey,for introducingmetothis bookofprayer-poetryby KateBowlerandJessica Richie.Throughit,and fromyou,Ihavelearned tofindspiritual sustenanceallaroundme.
thisindicatesapoemwhichborrows heavilyfrom,oradapts,poetryin TheLivesWeActuallyHave thisindicatesapoemwhichhasbeen inspiredbyTheLivesWeActuallyHave butwhichisessentiallyoriginalwork
Breathein. Iamhere. Breatheout. Iamokay.
ThereisthepersonIwanttobe AndthereisthepersonI’mangrywith Andinbetween IsthepersonIam
Breathein. Mypastdoesnotdeterminemyfuture. Breatheout. Recognizingtheproblemispartofthesolution.
Tillinmecompassionforyesterday’sself Cultivateinmeawarenessofmytriggers Waterwithinmetheseedsofstrength Sproutwithinmethefirstseedlingsofbetterhabits.
Breathein. Perfectionisnotachievable. Breatheout. Betterisaprocess.
Twostepsforward onestepback stillgetsyouthere intheend.
Hereweare,holding incompleteness.
Westrived,earnestly, tochangeourselvesandtheworldaroundus. Withthewindofhopeatourback, wedidwhatwethoughtwasright.
Andyet. Now,wefeel thedragandpullofwhatwon’tbudge. Theweight.Theinertia. Wecarryitwithus.
Blessedarewe,thehungry, willingtotellthetruthtoourselves andtoeachother.
Tobefullyknown,andfullyloved, tofixtheworld,toreacheveryperson, torighteverywrong, thatisaGod-sizedproject.
Blessedareweforourhuman-sizedlives, ourbrokenness,ourvulnerability, ourwanting.
Blessedarewe,remembering thattheworldisnotourstoshoulderalone. Helpusputonefootinfrontoftheother asbestwecan.
Wewillnotdesistfromthework. Letusrememberthatwearenotobligatedtocompleteit.
fortheanimalsinourhome
Blessthesetinycreatures withwhomweshareourlives
Blessthewildinthem
Thatclimbsandjumpsandscratches
Thatchasesandwigglesandhides
Thatcannotbetamed andcannotbeforced
Theunknowablecreaturetheyare
Blessthefierceinthem
Thesnarlsandhisses
Theprotectivenessoverresources
Theydonotknowareendless
Space,food,attentionWhatevertheywant, whatagifttobeabletogive.
Blessthegentleinthem
Thepurrsandlicks
Thesettlingdownonanarm, orback,orlap
Theslowblinksfromacrosstheroom thatsay,“Ifeelsafewithyou. Youhavemadethishome feelsafeforme”
Blessthelovinginthem
Theheadbuttsandflops
Thelove-bitesandlicks
Thesecret,codedlanguage thatteachesustolisten
Blesstheirinternalclocks.
Theysleepwhentheyaretired andrunwhenthey’rerestless, andpadaroundthehouseatnight, exploring,eachdayanewadventure
Blessthekitteninthem
Thebiscuitsmadewhentheyfeelhappy Thewetspotsleftonfuzzyblankets Thelittlemewlsthatask, “Whereareyou?” Andcomerunningwhenyouanswer.
Andblesstheirgrowingolder outoftheircutestbabyselves Blessthewaytheirbodieschange. Howlighttheyusedtofeel, likebabybirds. Nowtheyareheavyonmychest, onmyshoulder
Blesstheirbiggerpaws, theirhangingpouches, theirgrayhairs,thebrighteyes thatonedaywilldim, theheartbreakingbeautyofawholelife happeningbeforeoureyes
Blesstheradicalnow-nessofthem Theirinabilitytoplan,unwillingnessto bowtothedemandsofworkandschool Thatforcesmyattentionaway fromthebookorscreen andfirmlyontotheir littlebodiesandfaces insistingthatthemostimportantthing rightnowisthis,righthere. Blesstheirunawarenessoftime thecomplaintatgettingupjustfivemoreminutes forever
foranunexpectedlybeautifulday
Thisdayhasbeen simply wonderful.
Ididn’tknowwhenIwokeupthismorning thejoysthisdaywouldbring.
Itappearedthewayawildflowerdoes,suddenly, showingitsbrightfacetotheworld, vibrantcolorsblossoming unexpectedly.
Butaflowerdoesn’tgrowfromnothing andneitherhasthisday soI‘lltrytorememberthatthisbeautiful,perfectday wasgrowingallalong.
Onshitty,miserabledays, thisdaywasunfoldingunderground nothiding,justnotyetready toburstthroughthehardearth andpresentitselftome. Agift.
whowereoncehurtchildren
Sometimes,thegriefrises likebileinmythroat whenIlookattheirpreciousface andseethescaredkidinside.
Theyhavesufferedsogreatly, andweatheredsomuch. Iamtoolate tosavethechildtheyoncewere. Ifeelhelplessinthefaceofthepast.
Helpme/helpthem/knowthepastispast. Helpme/helpthem/feelthelovewithinthegrief. Helpme/helpthem/stayrootedinthenow.
Blessedarethosewhogothroughhell andlivetotellthetale. Blessedaretheirsmallvictories. Blessedaretheircopingstrategies. Blessedarethesetbacksandthestepsforward.
Andblessedarewe,whoholdtheirhands astheychipawayatthehardenedmortar anddismantlethefortressthatonceprotectedthem.
Blessuswithpatience. Blessuswithhope. Blessuswithstrength.
Wecannotchangethepast, butwecantendtothepresent andplantseedsthatwillbloom nextyear,too.
Theyhavecomethroughthestorm. Alive. Whatamiracle.
Whenthemusclesinthebody speaktheirtightreminders, listentothemlongenough togivethemrelease.
Yes,thingshavechanged. Itwouldbesillytoimaginetheywouldn’t. Youarenotwhoyouoncewere. Blessthatoldself. Theydidsuchagreatjobwithwhattheyknew.
Andblessedareyou-whoyouarenow. Youwhodoesn’tpretendthingsarethesame. Youwhocontinuetogrowandstretch andseeyourbodyasitreallyis.
Kindleyourawareness ofwhatyourbodywasmadefor andallthethingsitcando. Welcomeonesweetthought. Followitasitgrowsintogenuinegratitude. Untilthestirringsofenoughnesscome.
Holdyourselfgently. Youareloved. Youareloved. Youareloved.
Blessedaretheunmatchedsocks, thedishes,thepaperwork. Blessedistheclosetinthehall. Blessedisthelaundry andthedustonthewindowsill. Blessedareyou,whocannotdoitall.
Blessedarethebooksthatyouwillneverread, Blessedisthepodcastyouwon’tfinish. Blessedisthecarpetthatwillneverbeclean. Blessedareyou,whostaysinit.
Bestillforonemomentandfeelyourheartbeating Sayingwhat’ssacredlytrue: Sheereffortalonewon’tputthepuzzletogether Pleaseknowthatyou’rejustoneyou.
Takeyourselfoffthehookforperfection. Forgatheringeverylastthread. Blesswhatyou‘vedone,andcallitaday, Andbless“goodenough”instead.
Earthissothickwithdivine possibilitythatitisawonderwecan walkanywherewithoutcracking ourshinsonaltars.
-BarbaraBrownTaylor