A prayer

Tonio's uncle sent a really sweet note along with this prayer written down (thanks Steve!).  It really impacted me, and I wanted to share it with you.  (I've typed it below for easier reading, including the last verse.)

O persistent God,

Deliver me from assuming your mercy is gentle.

Pressure me that I may
grow more human,
not through the lessening of my struggles,
but through the expansion of
them that will undamn me
and unbusy my gifts.

Deepen my hurt
until I learn to share it and myself openly,
and my needs honestly.

Sharpen my fears until I name them
and release the power I have locked in them
and they in me.

Accentuate my confusion
until I shed those
grandiose expectations
that divert me from the
small, glad gifts
of the now and the here and the me.

Expose my shame where it shivers,
crouched behind the curtains of propriety,
until I can laugh at last
through my common
frailties
and failures,
laugh my way toward becoming whole.

(Guerrillas of Grace by Ted Loder)


I want to pray to God this way ; real, raw, scary and exciting.
Love Linz