(I have been writing these letters for a number of years now, daily. I plan to continue to do so as my daily devotion. However, this will be the last letter I publish here for some time. Thank you for reading. Please get in touch with me if you are interested in a continuing spiritual dialogue.)

Dear God, let me know peace. Let me recognize it when it is present. Let me not create disruption and worry where there is already calm.

Thy will be done.

(Letter #1240)

(Please let me know if you continue to find these letters helpful. I am considering stopping publishing them.)

Dear God, simple tasks crowd my day. Errands and chores. How high is my level of worry in comparison to the minor nature of the tasks! My emotional state is the same as it has been when facing much more trying circumstances.

Lord, let this recognition serve as a reminder that my emotions and reactions are themselves untethered from reality. How I feel bears no true relation to the events of the world. In fact my greatest self-delusion is that my feelings are a reflection of anything other than a fleeting inner storm.

Facing this day, I could have just as easily been contented at its simplicity, grateful that I have sufficient resources to meet it, elated that I am afforded time for my own pursuits, frustrated that my station is not more advanced, in despair at lost time. Any of these emotions would appear to me, while in their grip, as equally reasonable.

Lord, let me see through my feelings and perceive reality. Let me see you shining behind every event of the day.

Let me withhold my imperfect and childish judgment, and instead be grateful for all events, without imposing my own dramatic arc or interpretation upon them.

Let me quietly and gratefully set about to seek your guidance and to perform my duties as your servant.

(Letter #1239)

Dear God, the day is strewn with trials. Challenges of all sizes and kinds. I so easily fall into this illusion, and see my life as filled with battle after battle, trouble after trouble.

In truth, for the most part I walk untouched. Problems remain distant. They do not come to pass, or they are resolved without effort on my part.

Lord, let me recognize the peace I already have. The enemies I face are merely shadows on a screen. They distract me.

This is the real challenge you set: to recognize your love for me, for all. Lord, let me see you, already here.

(Letter #1238)