Tonight I am grateful for simple things: a good, long visit with my oldest sister, a quick check in with my next oldest sister and a phone call with my younger sister. I reckon it was check in with sisters day. It reminds me how glad I am to live so close to the three of them.
It’s been an interesting day. This morning I took care of a number of projects that I’ve needed to get done for quite some time, including a relatively minor but involved plumbing job. I must confess to having been very pleased with myself at the successful conclusion of the project. I was quite productive at the beginning of the day, and yet as I sit here at the close of day I find myself feeling a little out of sorts. I realize that there continue to be something (or somethings) percolating beneath my conscious thought that are creating a slight hum of dissonance in my life soundtrack at the moment. I know that the response to this dissonance is relax with it: not try to drown it out or ignore it. Whatever it is I need to know will come to me, no doubt. I will probably spend a few minutes before I take my rest reading or engaging in something that will lift my spirits a bit and relax my mind.
I am reminded once again of the night time prayer that my sister Sandy shared with me a few years ago. It periodically finds its way into this blog, and today is a good day to bring it back.
It is from the New Zealand Prayer Book (1989):
God,it is night.The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,new possibilities.
In your name we pray. Amen.
As I go into another week, I want to do so expectantly, looking forward to new possibilities, new joys. And of course, new things to be grateful for.
