Dear God, so many things that used to cause me worry and vexation have long since dissipated. Little by little, you address my woes and take away my troubles. Now, I can barely recall those things that previously agitated me and consumed my attention. They seem to be from another life.

Lord, this is perhaps the greatest gift I have received. My trials became lessons. This happened slowly, over time.

You rarely visit me in dramatic fashion. When you parted the Red Sea, you did not do it cinematically. It happened overnight, not all at once. The problem receded – it did not vanish.

Dear Lord, let me trust that such will be the case for that which troubles me today. Yesterday’s worries have faded. Today’s will too. Let me therefore thank you with a glad heart for all I face today. Let me be grateful for my trials.

Whether I address them directly, and so discover inner resources, or whether you remove them slowly, so I rediscover your power, they have all been delivered by you. Just for me. Let me see them through eyes of love. Let your will be done today and all days.

(Letter #904)

Dear God, let me apply myself today. I have tasks to do and would like to avoid them – let me not shirk my responsibilities. Keeping an orderly life is one way I express gratitude for how you saved me from dissolution and dissipation. I honor you by organizing that which I used to allow to fall into chaos. I arrange things around me such that I can expend effort on your behalf.

Let me not be slothful. Let me not be self-centered. Let me direct my efforts to the fulfillment of your dictates. Grant me discernment to know what those are. Grant me power to follow your bidding.

(Letter #903)

Dear God, how shall I do your will today? I am bedeviled by conflicting thoughts and emotions. Fear grips me and I become paralyzed. It looms so large, yet I do not look closely enough at it to know its qualities.

If I examine my fear I begin to see it clearly. I am afraid I may lose something, that I may face discomfort. That things will not go my way. That people I love will face difficulty.

Lord, grant me the courage to look clearly at my fears and recognize them for what they are. They are illusions. You have never brought more to me than I can handle.

Grant me eyes to see you all around me, O Lord. You support me even amidst trials. Everything you deliver is a lesson. Let me learn what you would have me learn. Let me love those around me. Let me serve them as a demonstration of your perfect love.

Thy will be done.

(Letter #902)

Dear God, I have a feeling of calm, before the challenges of the day close in and I begin reacting to events. Let me, Lord, use this quiet moment to listen. Let me hear your guidance today, that I may set my footsteps along the proper course.

Lord, let me seek your quiet voice throughout the day. I too easily forget the morning’s thoughts the moment I step out the door. Let me refresh my reliance upon you often.

God, let me humbly move from task to task, slowly, carefully, with love.

Let me view each thing I do as done in your name and at your direction. Let me not be frantic. Let me move deliberately. Let me walk and act slowly enough that I can discern your presence.

God, guide me today.

(Letter #901)