Above all, I fear the judgment of others – beyond lack, trial, deprivation. I twist into knots avoiding the criticism of neighbors and strangers alike.

Lord, the supply I need is no pile of treasure, nor even raw material to fashion, but inner guidance and strength. Grant me the willingness to follow your path, even through brambles, even when it veers away from the main road.

If I am to do right, let me fear no judgment.

(Letter #2,004)

You ask nothing of me, you beat back the storms, you comfort me when I am weak. Protector, parent, friend. You sit beside me on the morning after calamity.

O Lord, I remember you always too late. Let me feel you within me today, now. You were here even before I awakened.

Thy will be done.

(Letter #2,003)

Let me be simple today.

Let me be direct today.

Let me not decorate nor add a flourish to simple endings and beginnings. Let my actions have economy and my words clarity.

In this orderly discipline, Lord, let me find true liberty.

(Letter #2,002)

You have already led me, why do I seek guidance? This pathway exists and I walk it.

My own inventions, new paths, are diversions which take me nowhere but back to where I started.

Let me marvel at the flowers and creatures I meet as I go your way. Thy will be done, as it already is.

(Letter #2,001)

Let the course of the day, how I live, be my devotion. How I step through each turning, how I bend and lift each new burden, how I carry the broom to sweep – let me bring careful attention to each act.

This day, raw wood. Let me form it into a treasure box, strong and lovingly adorned, containing all the gifts I will pass along to my brothers and sisters.

This day, blank canvas. Let me paint a picture of peaceful meadows. Each step I walk today, another brushstroke.

This day, devoted to you, Lord.

(Letter #2,000)

Let all whom I meet today, leave me buoyed. Where they are frightened, let them have courage. Where they are agitated, let them find calm.

Let me devote this day to improving the lives of my fellows, Lord, and thus let it be my devotion to pursuing your will.

(Letter #1,999)

When I am vexed, let me listen for the lesson you are sending to me. When I am assailed, let me look for the gift.

When success comes to me, let me look for opportunities to share it with others.

Lord, I misperceive my place in your world. Let me see how I am just one among many.

(Letter #1,998)

If there be news to share, let me not proclaim it but spread it quietly through example.

Let me be no peacock, weighed down by my own finery. Let me be your burden-bearer.

Let my industry spread its own news.

(Letter #1,997)

They depend on me. I fear I am not sufficient. Lord, make me your instrument. Grant me knowledge of the right words to say, the acts to take.

You send these gifts my way, clothed as tests. My friends appear as enemies. I see crowds and panic, yet they come to celebrate.

Lord, what joy I live amongst. Let me see it.

(Letter #1,996)

You forgive me, Lord, and with this I am washed clean. No more must I relive my wrongs nor dwell on my shortcomings.

When I forgive my brother and sister, let the hurt be forgotten. Your grace is perfect; if I pass it on then I must love even my enemy.

These paths of relationship are choked with weeds, Lord. Ease our passage and remake our bonds. Let us forgive and love one another.

(Letter #1,995)