Holy one, we trust that you cause all things to work together ultimately for meaning and purpose – something we perceive most easily and often through your creation. Yet like the apostle Paul, I often find myself doing the very thing I do not want to do. I engage in over-consumption. I walk my dog with resentment. I spray weeds and squish bugs. I choose convenience over sustainability. I don’t speak up when others do the same. I have sinned, and in that sin, I have fallen short of appreciating and fully participating in the glory of your creation.
Forgive me, Holy Parent, and renew a right spirit within me. I desire a spirit of partnership with other people. I seek a fruitful relationship with the Earth’s creatures. I long for a serene mind and an open heart to perceive your power and work in all kinds of weather and seasons. I pray for a continuous awareness of my smallness in the relative nature of the cosmos and your expansive mercy and grace, which includes everything, even me.
This message is excerpted from “God of wind and whales” by Julia Seymour in the January/February 2024 Gather magazine.
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