This prayer by Ted Loder, from his book Guerillas of Grace, says beautifully what I have been praying clumsily this past week. I was thinking last night that I needed to get more involved with people as I seek to develop in my relationship with God. Solitude is good, but community is essential.  Finding Ted’s words this morning feels like God encouraging me to find people to share with. I just bought the Kindle version of the book on Amazon.com. That connects me just a bit with Ted Loder. Now I need to find fellow pilgrims with whom I can share an actual cup of coffee face-to-face.

Let Something Essential Happen to Me

O God,
let something essential happen to me,
something more than interesting
or entertaining,
or thoughtful.

O God,
let something essential happen to me,
something awesome,
something real.
Speak to my condition, Lord,
and change me somewhere inside where it matters,
a change that will burn and tremble and heal
and explode me into tears
or laughter
or love that throbs or screams
or keeps a terrible, cleansing silence
and dares the dangerous deeds.
Let something happen in me
which is my real self, God….

O God,
let something essential and joyful happen in me now,
something like the blooming of hope and faith,
like a grateful heart,
like a surge of awareness
of how precious each moment is,
that now, not next time,
now is the occasion
to take off my shoes
to see every bush afire,
to leap and whirl with neighbor,
to gulp the air as sweet wine
until I’ve drunk enough
to dare to speak the tender word:
“Thank you”
“I love you”
“You’re beautiful”
“Let’s live forever beginning now”
and “I’m a fool for Christ’s sake.”

Ted Loder
Source: Guerillas of Grace

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