A prayer, in remembrance of St. Francis

Our rescue sparrow, photo credit Scott McCray (son, for those who don’t know. Doug is husband. Even in the flesh, people mix up their names.)

Oh Lord, you have crowned me with beauty and sorrow, set me the task of loving the difficult while waiting for the appearance of some marvelous joy, and I have waited patiently, and I have shaken my fist and stomped my feet and it seems to me better to be sweet than surly. You have turned my tears to song.

Dear Lord, make me sweeter still. Rub off my rough edges and soften my saltiness (my dad was a sailor and my mother a sassy drinker). Keep me sunny and serene. More like a Sparrow, less like a Woodpecker. Teach me compassion for the things I can’t tolerate. Dose me with my own medicine, so I will know the taste of it.

Keep me humble but not humiliated. Beautiful but not vain. Intelligent but never condescending. Aware but not neurotic. Give me the gift of wisdom, that I might see clearly out of confusion, onto the path of righteousness. Lord, make me an instrument of your Peace.

LBM 11/1/2019