Prayer

 

Amid the storms that sometimes block our practice of rest; amid the chaos that can interrupt our calmness and centering on the Creator pray this prayer with written by Orin Crain:

To be prayed slowly, savoring each syllable, playing with each word, and listening to each line:

Slow me down, Lord!                                                      
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Amidst the confusions of my day,
Grant me the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music of the singing streams
That lives in my memory.
Help me to know
The magical power of sleep,
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations 
Of slowing down to look at a flower;
To chat with an old friend pr make a new one;
To pet a dog;
To watch a spider build a web;
To smile at a child;
Or to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
That the race is not always won by the swift;
That there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew great and strong
Because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life's enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of our greater destiny.  Amen.