Thursday, March 14, 2019

pre-birthday celebration

so so grateful for good friends to celebrate this crazy life with... 
God of grace and mercy,
present both in desert places and green pastures,
who knows the shadows in which we wander
and longs for us to walk in light,
whose arms embrace all those
who in despair cry out.
To you alone belongs our praise!
God of grace and mercy,
who knows the people we could be
yet loves us as we are.
To you alone belongs our praise!
God of grace and mercy,
who understands our frailty
and hears us when we call.
To you alone belongs our praise!

You are the shepherd
who walks the extra mile
to find the sheep that is lost,
Such is your love for us.
You are the merchant
Who sold all that he had
To buy a pearl of great price
Such is your love for us.
You are the farmer
who sows in fertile soil,
anticipating harvest.
Such is your love for us.
You are the outsider
who does not cross the road
but stops to help a stranger
Such is your love for us.

As this day draws to a close
we bring to your feet
those whose lives touched ours
just for a moment.
For smiles exchanged,
hasty greetings,
brief encounters
with people we may not know
but who are precious in your sight.
Bless these moments,
and may all such encounters
scatter a seed of your love
into the fertile earth of each day.

May this be a day of hope,
of expectation,
relishing each moment
as a gift from you.
May this be a day of freedom,
of breaking free,
loosening the chains that
still surround us.
May this be a day of peace,
of wholeness,
knowing that our lives
are in your hands.
May this be a day of joy,
of blessing
living in your kingdom
as a child of God.

Thank you for this time to celebrate and to give thanks for our lives
 that You have woven together.
May our lives be lives that are devoted to serving you,
and all whom you would lead us to.


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