Quiet my mind. Open my heart. Quicken my soul.
PRESENCE
"Great Friend,
everywhere I turn
they hold up mirrors:
'You'll never be like . . .' and 'See the flaws!'
and 'We're a bit disappointed.'
Rescue me
into some kind of sanity
and peace.
Amen."
GRACE
"Father, help me make the best self I can from what I have."
PSALM
"Don't let your sense of worth depend
on how much you make or what you seem
to be.
Hasn't the God who sees all truly said,
'I could never abandon you! Not ever!'
Uplifted by that love, why can't you say,
'The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid!
Who could make him stand aside?' "
— Hebrews 13:5-6
HYMN
"I am what I am.
I am my own special creation.
So, come take a look,
Give me the hook or an ovation.
It's my world
that I want to take a little pride in —
my world, and it's
not a place I have to hide in.
Life's not worth a damn,
'til you can say, 'Hey, world,
I am what I am.' "
— Jerry Herman
READING
"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
— Viktor Frankl
SCRIPTURE
"Jesus said to his friends, 'If you want to come along with me, don't let your worries about yourself get in your own way. Pick up my burden with me, and come along. If you're worried about what you're risking, what you might lose, you'll die without ever having known what living was for! What reward would be huge enough if it meant surrendering all claim to your soul, your self, your freedom to be you? Nothing! If you lose possession of your own self, what do you have left that's worth having?' "
— Matthew 16:24-26
CLOSING
"Great Friend,
remind me always that
no one degrades me
unless I permit it.
Help me trust
your confidence in me.
Amen."
