A morning prayer from Macrina Wiederkehr’s Seven Sacred Pauses.

Dawn, Most Generous Gift…

The words of Kahlil Gibran are sitting at the gate of my heart this morning: “To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.”  Words from Psalm 5 are also trying to get my attention: “In the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.”  I don’t always rise at dawn and watch for God, nor do I consistently awaken with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.  There are times when the wings of my heart remain folded; yet prayer still happens in me.  There are mornings when I simply sit in silence trying to remember some of the things that need to rise in me:

-a tolerance for those who don’t agree with me,
-a refusal to judge others,
-a willingness to forgive,
-greater effort to live with a non-violent heart,
-loving thoughts toward those who don’t exactly dote on me,
-a calm and hopeful spirit in the midst of my anxieties,
-discipline in my daily personal prayer,
-attention and faithfulness in my daily work,
-a holy anger for injustice in our world.

As I remember these necessary risings in my life, the wings of my heart slowly begin to unfold.  All Praise to You, Giver of the Morning!