A Pause in Lent 5

This week in the Barefoot Prayers we move to think about Virtues and how we can ask God to help us grow in certain virtues so that we might be better able to do God's will here on earth. The poem I am sharing today is about patience - which is a virtue that I struggle with and which God has been given me strength in over the past year, as things and events happen over which I have no control and so into which I must be patient.

Patience - Stephen  Cherry

This is a big ask, but I dare to ask for patience for myself.
For a sense of the right pace and
the right time.
Help me to develop a deep sense of the way your providence
unfolds, its moments
and its seasons.
Take from me the nervous desire to hasten.

Banish from my lips all unnecessary
talk of urgency or rush.
Remove from my actions all that projects busyness.
Help me to be prompt and punctual without rushing,
and to know when to move on when things are stuck
or time is being squandered.

Lord of all time,
help me to inhabit time calmly, attending to the pulse
of your grace, the season of your
Spirit and not my own
impatient desire.

Give me confidence and dignity
whenever I am required to wait.
Calm my growing agitations when waiting seems long,
and distract me with glimpses of your purpose
and presence.
Reconcile me to the present moment
and the slow but certain dawning
of your new future.

Think this week about which virtue you would like ask God help grow in your life.