Beloved creator and sustainer of all, there is a restlessness in my bones and in my spirit. I look for peace, and I pray for comfort. I feel like a stranger in places I know, and I am fearful of places I do not. In pondering the absence of stillness in my spirit, I remember a quote from your servant, St. Augustine: “You have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
God of love, help me to find peace through home-making and sanctuary-building, not in the traditional sense of those words, but in a way that would fulfill your will on earth as it is in heaven. Guide me to see the risen Christ at all times, places and people.
At home in Christ’s presence, make me an instrument of your justice. The establishment of this justice will be the sanctuary that so many desperately seek. In this living out of divinely-inspired love, I believe our hearts will find their home in you. Our restlessness will cease. We will have home and sanctuary; We will be home and sanctuary.
This message is excerpted from “Our hearts find their home in you” by Julia Seymour in the September/October 2023 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Luke, Evangelist.
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