Slow me down, Lord.
Ease the
pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a
vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amid confusion and lists of things to do, the
calmness of the everlasting hills, and moments of communion with you as I start the day.
Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles
with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me
to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking minute
vacations---of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a
dog, to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day of the
fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always
to 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 my greater destiny.
Amen
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1 comment:
I had not thought about this prayer for years, but I can hear my late father reading it to us, and perhaps to the adult Christian ed class he taught for years. Reading it again after all these years reminds me how deeply my father respected contemplation and sabbath, and helps me understand a bit more about the roots of this belief in myself. Thank you for posting this.
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