Prayer for the New Year

God of beginnings that beckon us to something, somewhere fresh, even when we are not sure we are ready to go.
We offer to You, what is unresolved from 2019.
The words we'd like to rewind and take back.
Actions where we wished we had a mulligan.
Moments that now that we are in 2020, we realize the profoundly powerful truth of hindsight.
Help us release, set down, what no longer needs to be carried forward.

We offer to You this day, God whose presence is part of every moment.
Three days into the year.
Places we feel certain and confident.
Places we feel like our feet are standing on shifting sand.
Places that are ordinary as we get back to the routine of trying to find You, O God, amid making school lunches, navigating traffic, doctor's appointments, and the to-do lists that occupy our lives. 
Break through each days this year with more than a trace of Your grace we can experience in the moment rather than only in reflection, looking back.

We offer to You the coming days and weeks.
For what is already being planned for our lives.
For that which will serendipitously surprise us.
For that which will take our breath away in good and not so great ways.

For all that was, is, and will be, we offer to You.
For all that we carry, concerns and celebrations, we offer to You.
We pause to breathe and be in You letting these words sink and settle into our souls.

(You are invited to go back and re-read this prayer a second time, letting each word slowly melt like a piece of chocolate in your mouth ~ awakening your response and thoughts).



Let all our thoughts and the stirring of our hearts be grounded and guided by You this day and countless days to come.  Amen.