Prayer for the Non-answers

Sometimes I get stuck for words to pray

And then all you ask of me is to

pause

*Amidst*

all the

non-answers;

To breathe

To simply allow my breath,

rather than my words,

to be what reminds me of you.

That in these moments,

each breath

can serve as a reminder.

That, just as the gentle waves of the ocean continue to effortlessly roll up on to the shore

And my breath never fails to roll up onto the shore of my thoughts,

In the same way,

does your presence never fail to meet each thought

The worry

Or the calm.

The confusion

Or the clarity.

The joy.

Or the sadness.

When I pause and notice my breath

it reminds me

of the gracious kind of presence you have.

My breath reminds me

you saw it all –

you were moving towards me

before I ever managed to

*say*

anything.

And in that

I find peace.

//

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!”

Isaiah 49:15