A gift and reminder as we start a new week

Guide Me into an Unclenched Moment   by Ted Loder

Gentle me,
Holy One,
into an unclenched moment,
     a deep breath,
        a letting go
           of heavy expectancies,
              of shriveling anxieties,
                  of dead certainties,
that, softened by the silence,
     surrounded by the light,
        and open to the mystery,
I may be found by wholeness,
     upheld by the unfathomable,
        entranced by the simple,  
           and filled with the joy
               that is you.


May you find a moment of peace, a time of stillness, a taste of joy today.


Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle  by Ted Loder, p. 23

Fragile faith

A prayer to start your day from Ted Loder


O God, I am so fragile;
     my dreams get broken,
     my relationships get broken,
     my heart gets broken,
     my body gets broken.

What can I believe,
     except that you will not despise a broken heart,
     that old and broken people shall yet
           dream dreams,
     and that the lame shall leap for joy,
        the blind see,
           the deaf hear.

What can I believe,
     except what Jesus taught;
     that only what is first broken, like bread,
        can be shared;
     that only what is broken
        is open to your entry;
     that old wineskins must be ripped open and replaced
        if the wine of new life is to expand.

an excerpt from the prayer What can I Believe ,  Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle, Loder.