Thursday, March 20
In the Wilderness
O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. – Psalm 88:1-3
Wilderness.
Wandering. Where are we?
Have love and compassion blown away
with the tumult?
In this landscape teeming with hearts
seared by arid indifference,
has the very breeze brought winter to the soul,
weariness to the heart?
Where, oh where is the light?
Come Holy Spirit!
Renew in our hearts the kind of love Jesus mandates.
Blow away the suffocating dust of prejudice,
the choking mold of division.
Breathe on us, we pray, with your holy fire.
Fill us with brotherly love.
Inspire us to welcome in a fresh renewal
of joy and gratitude
as fragrant and healing
as the blooms of springtime.
Gracious and powerful God, we need you to guide us back to the ways of Jesus, to his simple command to love one another. Send the Spirit to move among us, to stoke the fires of healing love. Amen.
Betty Schroeder