Merciful Home

It’s been a busy weekend, with sports, an epic sleepover, and at last a long lovely hike for me. It’s been raining or overbooked for me the last few weekends, and I started getting itchy to get back out on the trail. (I still haven’t tackled The Lady yet, but as soon as I do I will post about it.) When I got home today I took an epic nap, thanks to House Hunters Renovation, which always puts me to sleep before the couple tours the third house. I highly recommend it as a sleep aid.

When I woke up I had fresh energy. My plan was to clean out the pantry and cabinets and inventory our food supply so I could shop intelligently and come up with some meal ideas for the week. My body’s plan was to procrastinate instead, so I wound up pulling all the items off the bulletin board in my office.

I had years of photos, bits of paper with ideas scrawled on them, the phone number of the concierge at the hotel where we stayed near the volcano in Costa Rica, lists of books to read and TV shows to watch…

And this prayer.

Prayer for a Merciful Home

Christ Jesus,
You open your heart to us with unconditional love and devotion. Help us to follow your example of mercy.
May our home provide a warm and welcoming space for all who enter our door.
May we strive each day to ask for and extend forgiveness with generous and open hearts.
May the words we say be ones of kindness and respect.

And may we listen twice as much as we speak, ever willing to remain open to one another.
Enfold our home in your merciful love.
In your sacred name, we pray.
Amen.

When I pray, it’s usually a wordless plea for help, or I am in church reciting words along with everyone else, not thinking about what they mean. But this prayer was handed out to the families at our children’s religious class one Sunday. I don’t even remember how long ago. Its simplicity touched me in a way that the Bible’s prayers, translated from ancient languages and re-translated and changed every so often, never have.

I put it aside with the photos and keepsakes. I separated out the items I could toss. I put the prayer in that pile, but the words grabbed me again. I’d like to live this way. I typed them here because this website has lasted longer than most scraps of paper I’ve ever squirreled away.

The bulletin board is mostly clear now, waiting for new bits and memories to fill it up. And once I hit “publish” here, I’ll be done procrastinating. Thanks for joining me.