Tomorrow frightens me. Yesterday fills me with regret. Each is imaginary. Why, then, do I give them such power? It is I who invites them into this moment, to ruin it and chew at its foundations.

Lord, you will give me what is required to meet tomorrow when it naturally arrives. Let me attend to what you have delivered today.

(Letter #1,831)

Let me see all the ways that love of self motivates my actions.

In seeking safety, advancement, comfort. In gossip over others’ shortcomings. In planning out every step of the day for fear you will forsake me.

Let me see the self-love at the center of all of this, Lord. Grant me willingness that it be burnt out of me.

Let me stand blinking in the sunlight with fresh, pink skin. Make me a new person, beginning at my core.

(Letter #1,830)

A pile of debris to clear; a throng of fellows to console; a willful mind to restrain. Lord, the demands of the day seem insurmountable. All I have are hands, yet so much more is needed.

Let me call to you for help. Where would my faith be were I capable of meeting every challenge without aid?

My weakness is where you shine as through colored glass. Let me depend upon you.

(Letter #1,829)

The day touches me and I am awake. I fear the rain, the sun, the cold, the heat. Crowds and solitude.

I cower behind my door. Of what am I afraid? Each new act will eventually come to the awareness of my fellows and they will evaluate me. I fear in all instances, that I will be judged wanting.

Alone behind my door, Lord, let me see these fears rightly. They are shadows born of self-regard. No spotlight shines on me, no assays will be performed.

Lord, grant me a humility to see myself, my ordinary self.

(Letter #1,828)