A Prayer for today

Dear God,

Open my mind, soften my heart; mold me and make me pliable.

Help me come to a state of surrendering to your will.

Let me feel your presence, let me honor and respect your holiness, your awesomeness.

May I rest in the assurance that you are guiding me, directing my steps; that you are in control and that all is well.

May I search my heart and seek forgiveness for any thought, action or deed, that is not pleasing to you.

May I lay any concerns, worries or fears at your feet; trusting that you will take care of any and all of my needs.

May I feel compassion for others and pray for their needs as well as mine.

May I find areas to serve you and to reflect your love to all I meet.

May I resist all thoughts of resistance, judgement, unforgiveness, and fear; taking captive any negative thoughts and surrendering them to you.

May I feel your peace, hope and love in my life every day.

May I be grateful for the blessings that you bestow upon me and thankful for all situations, recognizing and learning the lessons that you are trying to teach me.

Let me recognize your truth in all things.

Help me oh God, to live the wonderful, awesome, abundant life that you have planned for me.

Amen

Priming the well

When I was growing up, we were poor. I had to go outside in all kinds of weather and pump water from a well, carry it back inside the house and then heat it up on a space heater. This was in the late sixties/early seventies and not too many of my friends lived in such dire conditions.

Now, before you could even get a drop of water out of the well, you had to prime it. This meant forcing the pump handle up and down continuously for some time until the force propelled the water up and out of the pump. This was called "priming". You couldn't just go to the pump and pump the handle one time and expect a stream of water to start gushing forth. No, it always took time, effort, and strength to manually force the water to come up into  and out of the pump.

And so, life is the same. Sometimes we want "instant" everything. Answers to life's questions, solutions to the problems at hand. Although we live in a world of instant gratification, sometimes it's just not that simple. Sometimes the water in the well is far from the surface and takes a lot of so called "priming."
I don't necessarily enjoy "priming the well", but lately things seem to be requiring a lot more effort on my part to get the end result.

I have been doing a lot of "priming the well" lately. Searching for the refreshing coolness of water when my soul and spirit is parched and dry. I know it will eventually come and so I wait; and I keep on "priming the well".