There are seasons when Life calls you to go deeper within yourself, in your relationships, and especially with God. I am having to do the work to recover my hope and nurse my grief. When I feel tender, I lean into prayer, scripture, music, nature, writing, and cooking for friends and family. The reality is we are all going to face moments when we feel unmoored and insecure in what we believe and trust. Gently, we put one foot in front of the other and with God’s help, we find again our spiritual grounding and surprising joy. This week, I returned to my collection of prayers in The Pocket Cathedral because I needed help praying. Another wonderful resource for prayers is the Psalms. This is not a time to go silent. If anything, we need to invite God front and center into our vulnerability.

Despite the reality of our fragile existence, I place my trust in the words of St. Julian of Norwich: All shall be well, all shall be well…for their is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.

Over the coming weeks, I am going to post creative ways to welcome healing in your life and mine. Let’s start with a vulnerable, heart-searching prayer.

Together we will heal.❤

***Thank you to Parnassus Books and White’s Mercantile in Nashville for ordering more Pocket Cathedrals. They can also be found on Amazon. All proceeds to me will go to the Evelyn Dieckhaus Fund. If you know of someone who is really struggling, please reach out and I’ll personally deliver one!***

Holy and Loving God,

More than ever, I feel the poignancy of being human

and —my need. of Your saving grace.

Please help me make my way.

You call me to look for glimmers of hope

no matter how dark or uncertain my present reality.

Teach me how to hold the sorrow and joy in me at once.

And release the fear and anger, so hope can flood the tender in me.

You promise that even if I cannot see it, Your mysterious Love

is holding me together.

All will come together for good.

Today, help me recommit to a new rhythm of faith,

one step at a time.

Make your calming presence known to me

in nature, in chapel candlelight,

in the faces of loved ones and even strangers.

Keep whispering the Truth to me—

Where there is Love, there is Hope.

A most grateful Amen.