Such a Time as This
Every day Areté.
Memento mori.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace, joy, and love.
May I be grateful for this quiet morning to prepare my mind, body, and spirit for action and contemplation.
May I remember the beauty and opportunity this new day offers me.
I am grateful for the meaningful work I've been given in "such a time as this."
I am grateful for my faith, family, friends, and community.
May I be a good steward of this day and each moment in it.
That was the prayer and affirmation I wrote on Friday morning.
Friday was challenging, but for some reason, I was continually reminded of these words I wrote to begin my day.
This is a discipline I've been faithful to for some time.
Spending time in the morning to pray, read, and write.
Before working out and before going to work.
My day filled with action always begins with a morning of contemplation.
I don't always recognize the many gifts I've been given and the treasure of participating in each new day.
I don't always appreciate or celebrate those opportunities, but on Friday I did.
As I was living those moments, filled with struggle, I could see the small victories.
The times I responded to those moments, nestled in the much deeper "time as this."
I saw and recognized that my tiny efforts and responses were making a difference.
In myself and in my relationships with others.
When I returned home, I reread my morning journal.
Something in there set me up for a remarkable day, but what was it?
I snapped a picture and just meditated on those words.
I took a walk, I prayed, and I felt the peace, joy, and love I was seeking in that third line.
There is nothing I haven't written or said in that prayer that I haven't written and said a hundred times before, but on Friday, I caught a glimpse of that place prepared for me.
That place is here and that time is now.
And my prayer is that I am ready for that place and time.
Every day.
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