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I’ve been getting up early to watch the sunrise these last few weeks. It’s not really a hardship: the sun rises at 7:30am! But the real show starts before the actual rising of the sun. The 20 minutes before is when the colors begin to show, and if there are any clouds, they take on the bright oranges and pinks that can be so spectacular. As I wait in the darkness in front of the fireplace with a wool throw over my lap, I find myself praying.
I start out with the usual, praying for my family, our congregation, folks in the hospital, and for our community. I pray for my grumpy self, asking for those gifts of the spirit that I really need these days; things like joy, peace, patience, self-control, forgiveness…you know the ones. I think that perhaps good humor should have specifically been included in there, but I guess it falls under one of those! I always feel better after a little round of prayer, even when I don’t pray for myself. I find that I have a renewed commitment, to try a little harder to be the kind one, the one who chooses love. Here is a quote from Rachel Macy Stafford that has been my mantra, maybe you can use it too.
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