Open our Eyes

I come before you, Father God, humbled. I enter into your presence, which is LOVE and healing wholeness. And there, Lord, I am convicted of the ways I have not been obedient to your call. I ask for the forgiveness that you have promised, if I come to you. I acknowledge I am wounded. And, therefore, I have hurt others. Stir my heart, now, to see where I need to ask the forgiveness of others. Urge me to seek that forgiveness, Father.Make me aware of grudges I hold, and help me release them. In your love, God, bring forward my needs for healing. Only you can heal me Lord, and make me white as snow.
Father, you are a loving God. You know no boundaries, and your love is vast and deep. You are faithful. You are powerful. You are God.
I thank you. Open my heart to needs of people I see daily – and open my eyes to the needs of people I choose not to see. Open my mind to people too far away to see. Urge me to pray for them every day, to disrupt my comfortable routine to help them. Put a thirst in the hearts of each one of us to serve one another….to reach out to those in need of love, support, encouragement, justice. Lord, we give you thanks that you first loved us, even before we opened our eyes to you. You shelter us and provide for our every need. Your grace amazes us, and your mercies overwhelm us. Through the power of Christ Jesus, may we be the arms that shelter one another. In Jesus’ sweet name. Amen

Open My Heart to Jesus

     Each morning this Christmas season, I have pondered whether or not I am giving room to Jesus in my day.  As I read my advent devotional, the details of my day crowded in.....the responsibilities at school, the people I wanted to contact, the Christmas to-dos at school, for family, for friends.  Then, in my car, the music of worship, wooing my mind to be more yielding to your mind for it all, God. More asking you to take over and bring your priorities into my day...making more room for Jesus.  Now, the gift of vacation time, and more time to spend with family and friends....time to focus on the shopping and wrapping and planning.  Still, where is Jesus in it?  Is Jesus in the extra smile, the extra kindness to a stranger, the touch sent to a friend?  Is Jesus in the gift bag given to a homeless man on the corner, or a shoebox of gifts shipped to Peru?  Is Jesus in my heart as I consider how to share His message with an unbelieving friend? As I celebrate the birth with my family?  Is it enough?
      How can I ever put into words what you mean to me?  Loving Father.  Abba, Daddy.  Rabboni, Teacher.  Saving Grace.  Friend and Counselor.  You are my life, my deepest everything, my foundation.  You make me whole, you transform me, you stretch me, you grow me.  You put hope in my heart, you calm my mind, you quiet my hurts, and you light up my life. After so many years of loving you, how can I begin to share the complexity of all you have done in me and through me?
     Your answer is simple, Father God.  Your answer is a babe, announced by angels, born humbly, and welcomed by the marginalized shepherds.  Loved, adored, worshiped, despised and denied, He grew to teach of that love and share that love with us...the first Chritmas gift, sacrificial, the unearned gift of grace. Is our heart open to receive?  Are we stuck on establishing if the turnin is scientifically proven to be real? Does it matter? Faith is the key to open the heart, and joy is the gift.  May we be the child, eager to receive the gift of love and grace once again. May the shine on our face be like an angel, sharing the message of that love with everyone we meet today.