Good morning…
For many of us the Thanksgiving holiday involves people, lots of imperfect people. Well-meaning and flawed, imperfection is baked into our human nature. To prepare myself for the stretching hours ahead, I return now to wisdom found on page 184 in The Great Spiritual Migration by Brian McLaren.
Lord, up in the middle of the night with you now, I pray that you help me to learn. Amid the natural frustrations, annoyances, and hurts, I want to learn to love the people I am with this week. Experiencing delays and disappointments, I want to learn patience. Being vulnerable to unkindness, I want to learn to be kind. In the presence of heartbreaking and unquenchable need, I want to learn genuine generosity. Enmeshed in seemingly unresolvable conflict, I want to learn to pass your peace. Feeling moments of acute humiliation, I want to learn to the gift of humility. Facing opposition and frustration, I want to learn the determination that love requires. Nagged by an unrelenting seduction to give up, I want to learn to trust your enduring love.
To learn means to gain new knowledge or skills through study, practice, or experience. May I study your wisdom, Lord, practice your ways, and embody the deep love you have for all of us imperfect people.
Show me how you work, God; school me in your ways (Psalm 25:4, MSG).
…Sue…
