When I can do so little, let it be enough.

When I can scarcely move, let nourishment come to me.

When they ache, let my meager words ease others.

Let my little be enough.

(Letter #2,343)

Creeping vines o’erspread the flowerbeds.

Wildfire smoke darkens the sky.

One or two pulls, and within days there will be blooms. Walking the burnt mountain paths, fresh buds cover the blackened branches.

Life, peace, side-by-side with chaos.

Lord, ease my heart.

(Letter #2,342)

What is the season in which I find myself?

Is it a time of testing, when I am asked for proof of my reliance upon you? Is it a time of teaching, when I will learn from failure atop failure? Is it a time of relief, when I will breathe a sigh after so many close calls?

Is it, yea, the time of rejoicing over the shower of gifts and bounty that encircle me?

Lord, your day is all things and my choices are infinite. All is indeed your will. Let a bright spirit motivate me, that I may shine for others.

(Letter #2,341)

When I am distracted, are you still here with me? Do you turn away calamity even while I indulge myself?

Lord, let me be grateful for what I do not see.

(Letter #2,340)

At dawn under birdsong, I pray for what I need. In storms, I ask for shelter; when hungry, I seek nourishment.

How can I know what I need? My perspective is so narrow.

Do I need shelter, or better garments? Do I need food, or the awareness that comes of fasting?

O Lord, provide what I need, and grant me grateful acceptance.

(Letter #2,339)

For too long I have seen myself as the architect of my own rescue. I have enough for the day’s march yet I fret over tomorrow’s meals. It is summer days, yet I am despondent that winter will come.

Today is filled with providence, most of which remains unseen. I never saw the robber whose heart you turned; the avalanche that never began.

Resting in your palms, let me walk buoyed through the day, this day.

(Letter #2,338)

As I walk this mountain path, I see wider and wider views.

False summit after false summit, have I reached yet another? Will tonight be spent on the ridgeline, wind upsweeping, or in another lean-to by the roadside?

Nearer and nearer I come. Prepare the flags, I am reaching you.

(Letter #2,337)

Walking alone through arid lands, there is no conflict.

Exhausted after great effort, I easily sit still.

Drunk, my neighbors laugh together where before they fought.

Is this peace, Lord? Is your gift no more than the absence of battle and agita?

O my friend, grant me an affirmative peace, that it may be something I can pass on.

(Letter #2,336)

The chores await regardless of my attitude.

Is this day filled with hardship or ease? How can I know when my judgments are so clouded?

While I labor mending the boundary fence, let me discover the treasure you left in the post hole. None could have seen it coming, yet I will look back on this day. as if it were inevitable.

(Letter #2,335)

There is a spark in me. Can the world snuff it out?

Warmth in my chest grows day by day. Some dawns, my heart is afire. Do I burn too brightly to last?

Lord, let me tend this flame. Tomorrow may bring winter.

(Letter #2,334)