Eternal God

Grounded One

Most moved mover

As we begin this familiar season with wholly unfamiliar new routines,

Make your presence known to us. Wrap your arms of comfort and protection around us, a Mother embracing her beloved children before releasing them at the bus stop.

We pray for the mundane

For reliable internet connections and devices 

For ventilation systems which circulate clean air

For masks which rest comfortably on our faces

For our breath which moves in… and out… 10s of thousands of times a day without thought or effort

We pray for the frustrations 

The screens that freeze

The friends we long for 

The thoughts that are fleeting and oft interrupted

The Before Times world we no longer inhabit

We pray for PEOPLE

For teachers and administrators trying to foster learning in a time when no options are ideal

For children and teachers returning to three dimensional classrooms

For children and teachers returning to two dimensional screens

For parents and caretakers facing the impossible — sending their children to a once familiar environment; keeping their children home where they’ve been for six months; juggling school and work and parenting and… rest.

Yes. Rest. 

In this season of prolonged anxiety we pray for rest. 

And joy. Yes joy. 

We pray for the joy of smiling eyes that cannot be hidden by a piece of cloth. 

Joy of seeing friends, whether from six feet away or on a screen.

Joy of forced time with family. 

Give us the endurance to navigate our virus fatigue. 

Give us the empathy to see the humanity in every person whose path we cross.

Give us reminders that we are in this together — this ultimate group project that none of us asked for but all of us wish to complete. 

Keep us safe. Keep us sane.

Amen.