Rough Seas

There is a tropical storm hugging the coast, bringing rough and choppy seas, higher than usual tides and dangerous rip currents. Not a hurricane, and yet with potential to do damage and make life challenging, bringing rain and wind in its wake. As I wake this morning, the storm is evident in the skies. The clouds are thickening, the air is damp and the breeze is picking up. Having lived my life by the ocean, I can sense a change in weather and the challenge that change can hold.

The past few days for me have been times of prayerfully looking at the events in my life and asking for God’s direction. Yesterday, in the morning after church, we attended a memorial service for our next door neighbor on one side of my mother. A good neighbor, Carl, a lifelong fisherman, was remembered for his love for his family and the sea. In the evening we went to our other neighbors’ house to attend a baby shower for dear family friends. We have known each other much of our lives. We were suspended between death and life, loss and hope, and had the opportunity in both to celebrate life abundant. In both situations, there was much laughter, hugging and delight in seeing old friends.

This is a time in my life to seek God’s guidance in all things – small and large. Yesterday, I had the gift of living fully in the tangible and visceral evidence of the constancy of God’s love. Today, I hope to continue to live in that love, believing that God’s love and protection surround me and that my every step is guided by a loving and caring Creator. Love is in charge and I want to be a disciple of God’s love. Today, as the bishops continue to gather at Lambeth, I pray that they too will be disciples of God’s love, expectant and tender in their waiting on the Creator’s guidance. After the events of the past weekend, I can do nothing else but follow God’s lead. I pray that their hearts and minds have been shook up and set free so that they too may follow God’s lead. There is a change in the weather in me, and I pray for a change in the weather and climate for them. May we all have the courage to face the changes in our lives, face the strong winds and storms of life, with the surety of knowing the loving God is in charge of even the stormiest seas and changes of life. May we all have the strength today to trust and follow the Creator’s loving lead.

Morning Prayer
Loving Creator,
Storms are brewing around us and in our hearts. Help the leaders of your church find solace in your word, find strength in your spirit and your love in the hearts of their companions. May the storms we face today be transformed by you into new opportunities to serve Christ and the world. May we all have the courage to cling to you and one another this day, as we pray for your guidance and direction, in the name of your son, our savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Evening Prayer
Dear God,
Rest has come at last. May the struggles of the day fall away, may we let go of our failings, and may we be made new in our night’s sleep. The bishops gathered at Lambeth need an extra measure of rest and healing this day. We pray for their bodies and their spirits, that they might be renewed by you in the depths of the night. May trust win out over suspicion. May your love dominate and conquer all their fears as they turn toward you. And may those of us, who watch and wait, turn our hearts to you this night and forever. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.