Trampled Gems

Lord,

Let me not walk by someone who has been trampled underfoot

and mistake that person for what he or she truly is: my brother or sister in your love.

It is too easy to accidentally or somewhat purposely turn my eyes to things other than You.  When I do, I fail to notice the gems around me.  Let me never crush them, accidentally, purposely, or by sins of omission.

Amen

Goodbye

Lord,

Help me to say goodbye to a friend who is leaving my life.  Help me to let go when people tell me they need space.

Help me to listen to people and not just act and react the way I think they need help but rather to listen to what they are telling me regarding what they want or need.

Help me to discern what You are calling me to do.

Thank You for your forgiveness and healing.  I need it often for I fall often.

Help me to stand against darkness and put it behind me.

But if and when I fail, for I am a flawed person, help me to continually come back to You for healing.  Help me to come back to You as soon as I can, to seek You and to call out to You when You are near.

Help me to see You and to look for You everywhere, especially in other people around me.

Amen

Trampled Underfoot

Lord,

Help me to stand up when I have fallen.

Help me to shine vibrantly for You even though the world may trample me underfoot.

Help me to be an answered prayer for someone else today, that I might add color to another's day by serving You.

Help me to open up to You and open up to others rather than closing in on myself.

Lord,

Please help me to again stand up, even as I fall again.  I fall often.

Help me to be there for others even when others want to curl up and turn away.  Help me to know when to back off and when to push so that they don't close me out.

Amen

Teach Me to Make Time

Lord,

When I am surrounded with too many tasks to complete, let me peek through to see You.

Bridge the gaps I have between what it takes to follow You and where I currently am, for I fall often.

Help me to understand your what it means to love.  Your fullness of love is such a mystery to me.

Help me to look deeper into people and into situations than just the surface.  So many times the heart of an issue or the heart of a person's pain is found at the very center.  Help me to make time to see it.

And when life gets prickly, as it always does from time to time, help me to embrace You and to embrace others.  Help me not to shout out, "Don't touch me!  You or I might get hurt."

Amen

Catch Me

Lord,

Catch me when I fall.

For I fall often.  Help me to learn from my failings.

But when I fall again, help me to always look to You for answers, strength, wisdom, and patience.

Lord,

Help me to stop to see those things and people around me that I would have otherwise overlooked.

And when temptation seeks me out, help me to fly away from it to cling to You.

Amen