I don’t know where it came from, but I suspect we need this prayer more often than not.
Heavenly Father, Help us to remember
that the jerk who cut us off in traffic
last night is a single mother
who worked nine hours that day and
is rushing home to cook dinner,
help with homework,
do the laundry and spend
a few precious moments with her children.
Help us to remember that the
pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man
who can’t make change correctly
is a worried19-year-old college student,
balancing his apprehension over final exams
with his fear of not getting a student loan for next semester.
Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum,
begging for money in the same spot every day
(who really ought to get a job!)
is a slave to addictions
that we can only imagine in our
worst nightmares.
Help us to remember that
the old couple walking annoyingly slowly
through the store aisles
and blocking our shopping progress
are savoring this moment,
knowing that,
based on the biopsy report she got back last week,
this will be the last year
that they go shopping together.
Heavenly Father,
remind us each day that,
of all the gifts you give us,
the greatest gift is love.
It is not enough to share that love
only with those we hold dear.
Open our hearts not just to those who are close to us,
but to all your people.
Let us be slow to judge
and quick to forgive,
show patience,
empathy and love.
Posted by level0690 on January 24, 2012 at 4:14 pm
First “Altar in the World,” p 94.
Then Google the first line. Pick your source.
And it is difficult to remember that there is somebody home in that physical body we see but don’t perceive. We can try!