Today we do more than clean a shelter, today we bless a home for women and their children who are experiencing crisis. Imagine yourself beginning your family alone and in a shelter instead of a home. Today we bless this shelter home for the women God will send this way. The women who right now might be discovering they are pregnant; who are preparing to leave a violent domestic situation so their children can grow up in peace instead of chaos; the women who thought they had someone who loved and supported them and found out suddenly they do not; the women who had a decent job and a place to live and then went on bed rest without health insurance; the women whose spouse died suddenly, tragically and/or unexpectedly and was the sole financial provider for the family.
Today we bless this house as an altar in the world so that when these women come through the door they feel God's all encompassing and loving embrace surround them. Cleaning may not seem like a blessing but I would ask you to challenge that thought. Barbara Taylor Bradford writes about her experience of the sacred when cleaning a toilet in "Altar In The World" and I have on occasion shared my own story of the baptismal sacredness of doing the dishes for my family.
All moments in our life are sacred, each moment a gift from God,
to be enjoyed and blessed for the glory of God.
Please today, take a sacred moment and lift up a prayer to God for all women who are pregnant and/or new mothers who find themselves without a home and the resources to care for their children. Pray in thanksgiving for new life and new hope.
"May God protect you from every danger you face. May God give you the strength and courage to take failure, not as a measure of your worth, but as a chance for a new start. May prosperity come your way, so that you are free from worry about food and drink, about home and shelter, but May you never be so caught up in material things that you forget that the essence of life lies not in possessions or money, but in love, and in God. May you find fulfillment in whatever you choose to do. May you use your talents to serve in the way that God intends you to, helping your fellow humans and walking in the light of God. May you fully love and may you be fully loved. May you be a source of light and inspiration to your family and friends, and may they be the same to you. May you be forever comforted by a strong and enduring faith in God, who created you and who sustains your life." Amen!
(these are excerpts of a prayer written by Ms. Elizabeth K. Camp "Blessing for a Child" and published in the book "Women's Uncommon Prayers; our lives revealed, nurtured, celebrated". Consult the book for a full version of this beautiful prayer.)
No comments:
Post a Comment