Being Known

"My sheep hear my voice and I know them.. They follow me. I give them life that lasts forever." John 10:27-28

There is great joy in being known and being loved just as we are. There are also times when being known can bear down on all of us. The people who love us and really know us can sometimes make our lives more challenged. So, for all of those times, here is a prayer for those of us who love our families fiercely and have human moments in the midst of tremendous love.

Dear God,
We are stuck together in this family and today, nobody seems to get along. We each try to do what is right. We each end up stepping on one another’s toes. Every day there seem to be more arguments to settle, more feathers to unruffled, more apologies needed and more accepted. We don’t forgive easily and we remember our mistakes forever. We barely make it out of the door in one piece. And yet, you love us and promise to be with us. You want to be with us, even in the squabbles and with the mess in the car. You think about us and watch over us even in our meanest moods. Thank you for loving us more than we can love ourselves. Give us an extra measure of love and forgiveness today, so that we might see you more clearly in the midst of this wonderful and mighty love you call this family. Amen