Unfolding Truth, who often is hidden in desolate places,
Lead us to further knowledge of your ways in this moment of quiet. Help us to do nothing in order to find everything; not to squander our precious time, but in attending to your Presence, allow you to reveal the message of your cross. Comfort all who are dealing with unknown futures. Restore our hope in finding the way that imparts life out of death. Remind us of your goodness. Amen.
Ancient of Days, who accompanies us on our inward journey,
We draw near to you in this silence, waiting for your love to carve away our excess, so that we may find what is truly valuable. Your relentless grace guides us into our interior shadows, softening away our hardness with your compassionate Presence. Make this Ash Wednesday be the doorway to a season in which our inconsistencies are revealed. Unbind us from any fear, envy, pride, sloth or perfectionism. Release us into your creative light so we can become more fully yours. Remind us that this path is not a solitary one but for the whole community. Amen.
Source of all Hope, available to us in every realm on earth and in heaven,
Your Presence makes real your encompassing love. Even when we are swept away into lives that are not of our own choosing, we do not despair. You give us clarity, comfort and conviction, placing a right spirit within us. Answer in us questions for others. Make our lives a portrait of your ways. Amen.
Divine Hope, who is found both beyond and within us,
As we begin this season of preparation, we admit how often we fear silence, fight stillness and resist the unknown. Move us beyond the exterior material in our lives toward the inner rooms of our hearts. As we explore in these depths, adjust our seeing toward each new reality that arises out of shadow and darkness. Through our sense of relief, stir us to passion for others, leading us beyond mere survival to fullness of joy. Amen.
Blessed Provider,
who picks up the pieces of our lives gathering an abundance where we saw not enough,
Soon we will be together at table; families, friends and foe. For some of us, the empty places at our tables reflect what has happened in our hearts. Change us to be those who trust rather than fear, turn our yearning into gratitude. Move us to respond to your grace by giving before we take. Fill us with your Loving Presence. And if ever any hostile encounter threatens to separate; extend our arms to reach out in love through your life-giving Word. Amen.
Divine Being, who waits alongside the waters,
We cannot be still. We cannot wait. Too many young people are dying, like the leaves that have fallen to the ground. Remind us to take in your breath, to notice something of your Presence; to acknowledge Love that arrives in flowers, candles and tears. We stand and watch at these altars of remembrance. Stir in us, move us to speak for those whose voices are no more. And give us hope for the mystery of your work so deep below the surface. In you mercy, so be it.
God of mercy, whose creation is ever before us
Even the falling leaves whisper their consent. Even the fading flowers express their beauty as they wither. Help us to recognize the visible strength found in delicateness. Slow our pace, remind us to pause as living things return to the earth. Increase our trust in the rhythm of the seasons that follow. You breathe your goodness and gladness in us, make us satisfied to breathe in you this day. Amen.
2 Cor 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Let us all seek to find some piece of glory amidst tangled brambles, today. Stop and listen for your breath in that place. Make a way for some kind of peace to be revealed. Even the most delicate veins yield tremendous strength. Even today, your life has a purpose. Amen.
2 Cor 12:9
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Stop and notice, but don’t wait.
Let some kind of bloom shape us, soften or delight us. Common, ordinary things change us when we let them. Opportunities flash by–
without the least regard.
Make us ready for the fullness steeped in every moment, in each precious bloom. Amen.
Luke 11:34
One day the water ran dry.
Even when life stopped, still creation grew wild,
swelling around me as the water found its different course.
Time has a way of painting extraordinary character
a beauty that has gone by without fading.
Now, more than ever, each breath
draws me back to Presence-
revealing the Love that contained my past,
holds the water that fashions my future.
where each breath is enough.
In October of 2016, my beloved died suddenly and tragically after 36 years together. Just as I began to feel the earth under my feet again, in January of 2019, my sister died three days after a terrible stroke. A month later, a dear friend lost her life, entrusting me with her last letter. A month later, my dear Aunt Janet for whom I am named died, my godmother and beautiful soulmate. Here today, is my simple thought for beginning again. Thank you for reading.
Janet Salbert 