Silence my soul, these trees are prayers.
I asked the tree, “Tell me about God”
then it blossomed. — Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
In the snow-laced woods, the blossoms wait deep in the cold branch. We trust the waiting bloom is there.
God we trust in your presence in the places where beauty and new life is not easily seen.
For those mourning loss in the deadly train crash in Greece.
In the long fraught and new waves of turmoil in the West Bank of Palestine.
As we observe the continued loss and political gridlock of war in Ukraine.
Beneath the rubble of buildings destroyed, lives lost and upended in Turkey and Syria.
For the girls poisoned in schools in Iran to prevent their education.
God we pray for movement like healing sap…
In Mexico, may electoral law changes bear fruits of justice.
As a people seek peace in the transition during the election and party change in Nigeria.
For West Africa, where Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea are repatriating nationals from Tunisia after inflammatory racial remarks about immigrants made by the President.
May we see You in the unexpected — proclaiming and rejoicing “God is Good!” as we heard in the celebrations of rescuers pulling people and animals out alive from the rubble in Turkey and Syria. A dog was just found alive on day 23 after the quake.
In Bolivia a man survived after 31 days in the jungle eating worms and drinking rain water. The man’s brother said of him, “He is going to play music to praise God. He promised God that, and I think he will keep his promise,”
May our minds, hearts, bodies and souls be quieted in you,
For like the trees we need the silence of rest.
May we rest, even if so briefly, in you.
May rest open to the comfort, hope and sight
that you are a God who touches earth with beauty,
even when we cannot see it, even when it is buried under snow.
Amen.
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