Gracious and Holy One, creator of all things and of emptiness, I come to you full of much that clutters and distracts, stifles and burdens me… Empty me now of growing dissatisfactions, of anxious imaginings, of fretful preoccupations, of nagging prejudices, of old scores to settle, and of the arrogance of being right. Empty me of the ways I unthinkingly think of myself as powerless, as a victim… as being less than I am, as other than yours. Empty me of the disguises and lies in which I hide myself from other people and from my responsibility for my neighbors and for the world. Hollow out in me a space in which I will find myself, find peace and a whole heart, a forgiving spirit and holiness, the springs of laughter, and the will to reach boldly for abundant life for myself and the whole human family. - Ted Loder What are the things you are full of this morning, that are less abundant-life and more distraction-and-burden? Where do you feel cluttered? Do you resonate with this prayer of emptying? Notice what comes up in you as you read through—what connections, memories, thoughts, feelings, and associations arise as you make your way through each line? Consider joining in this prayer of emptying, of letting go what has cluttered your soul for however long. What do you discover? Relief? Resistance? What did you not know you were full of until just now? Talk through all of it with God. Let yourself open to emptiness and abundant life and the truth of what you are carrying in this moment.

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2023-08-18 13:30:10 UTC