For David, On the Occassion of an Ordinary Day

How does it happen, that energy-
come-flying, that solid, solid mass
unseen and untouchable,
the wind off the sea at midnight,
heard and felt,
known,
irreplicable?

He is it; right now I know him –
unconditional and pure – God at
20-months-old. He is squishy,
at the same time strong,
and there is nothing stopping his selflessness
save his humanity.

He has not yet two years
in this temporal, spatial world
and certainly he knows frustration –
an inability to reach bananas from the counter,
the challenges of pushing star-shaped blocks into star-shaped holes;
but these things are manageable;

unwieldy is what to do with all this love,
this overarching mode of operation:
“I want you to know how I love you.”

I know it in my bones. It is palpable. Inside and out.

Prayer of the Christophers

Father, grant that I may be
a bearer of Christ Jesus, your Son.
Allow me to warm
the often cold, impersonal scene
of modern life with your burning love.
Strengthen me by your Holy Spirit
to carry out my mission of changing the world
or some definite part of it for the better.
Despite my lamentable failures,
bring home to me that my advantages
are your blessings to be shared with others.
Make me more energetic in setting right
what I find wrong with the world
instead of complaining about it.
Nourish in me a practical desire
to build up rather than tear down,
to reconcile instead of polarize,
to go out on a limb rather than crave security.
Never let me forget
that it is far better to light one candle
than to curse the darkness,
and to join my light,
one day, with yours.
Amen.

~ reposted from livingwithchrist.us