This is a poem I wrote a week back, but it has been difficult to share because it feels so obvious and simple. Still, it’s been on my heart ever since. It’s something I continue to treasure even though I haven’t written it down. stillIt is important to be reminded. Maybe someone who reads it will feel the same…
I’m an aspirational organizationalist. By that, I mean that I’d like to be much more organized than I am. Yes, there are moments in my life when things go well. But, just like Whack-a Mole, once one thing is done, the next comes back to haunt me.
One of the ways I try to address this is by keeping a day-timer/planner (mine is a “Day Designer”). While I love technology and all the apps available to me to keep track of my thoughts, life, and activities, it seems that having a printed copy to write down appointments, plans and dreams, is a great way to organize them.
Recently, I’ve taken to adding “Pray” to the beginning and ending of each day. Which seems…perhaps silly. Like scheduling “shower,” or “get dressed,” or “breathe.” It should just come naturally – I feel guilty acknowledging that I need a reminder. But…I do.
It’s not that I don’t ever pray without the reminder. Actually, I do pray often. But all too often, it’s a fleeting thought – a momentary concern lifted to God but quickly overwritten by the next “SQUIRREL!” that scurries across my far-too-easily distracted brain.
What I’ve been failing to do is set aside dedicated space in my day to focus truly – deliberately — on praying. I’m a firm believer in the power of prayer and I know it matters not whether the prayers I pray are for little things or big things, as all things are possible with God.
It doesn’t matter what I do, it matters that I do it. Turn off your smartphone, the computer, or any other distractions that may be causing you to lose focus, then get in touch with God.
The note in my Day Designer isn’t a “To Do” to check off my list. It’s a gentle nudge — a call — to thank Him for the many blessings in my life and the wonders of His creation – the warm sunshine on my face, the robin I encountered on my walk Sunday; to ask that He help a friend recover from illness, that He heal another friend’s spine, another’s broken heart, another’s troubled mind; that He protect the people of Ukraine and all those caught in the crossfire of a war-torn world; that He soften the hearts of even the cruelest of despots that they may turn away from evil toward Him; that He help elected officials to step up and be true leaders.
Although there are many items to pray about and pray for, none are beyond His reach. Even though not all my prayers get answered as I might wish, I am certain that He hears them.
So I tell myself — and anyone else who may need the reminder — remember to pray.
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