Dear God, my true pursuit is to grow closer to you. My every prayer and positive action is designed to create nearness and relationship. So many years I was alone from you, bereft.

The great challenge I now face is distraction. So many matters occupy my attention and place themselves between me and you, dear Lord. Tragically, these distractions come from within – they are of my own making. They rob me of my nearness to you.

Lord, let me set aside all this attention I pay to self. Let me draw near to you.

(Letter #1423)

Dear God, if I draw near to you, will you speak?

Let me listen closely. Let me lean in, let me shut away the activity outside my rooms and bend my ear to you. You speak so quietly, I so often miss your guidance, hearing instead the rush of crowds and clanging labor.

Let me draw near to your whispering voice, telling me the open secret that all is already well, if only I will heed this truth.

All is well. All is already well.

(Letter #1422)

Dear God, I think too intently on my place in this world. What is my rank? How am I seen? Do others approve? These thoughts beset me throughout the day. They poison my actions with grasping and worry. They undermine even my most altruistic act.

Lord, dismantle this structure I have built for myself, this pedestal, this armor. Let me stand naked and upright in the light. Let me not blink from the glare.

(Letter #1421)

Dear God, stone by stone, the world weighs upon me. Fear, worry, resentment piling one on the other. These bedevilments, though, are all self-created. Let me, Lord, flee from myself by giving over each moment to your will.

If I am your instrument in one setting, I must be so in another and another. Let me ask in each, what am I called to do, how best can I be of use?

O! Relieve me, Lord.

(Letter #1420)

Dear God, early in the morning, I am in solitude, yet also I receive small messages of faith from others who similarly seek to learn of and follow your will. I join this quiet circulation of faith, passing on small messages to others. Lord, in these morning times, a quiet and meek community forms.

The rush of the day dispels the fragile connections, but they reform each morning. Our voices sing to you in a quiet chorus, O Lord.

I am with others, we are with you, you are with us, you are with me.

While the day rushes at me, let me think back on this quiet community. Thy will be done.

(Letter #1419)

Dear God, termites of fear chew at my foundations. Trouble and worry loom so large in my mind in these early hours. Let me not act frantically. Let my movements be slow, deliberate. Let my thoughts be filled with your presence. Let me comprehend how protected you hold me.

What can touch me, while I am in your arms? I am in your care, yet I act as if I am alone in an unforgiving land.

Let this fog of worry lift, O Lord. Let my thoughts become clear, my heart become calm.

(Letter #1418)

Dear God, strip away my obstinacy, my selfishness, my pride. Let me cheerfully carry my portion of the load, easing the burdens of my fellows. Let me wash the feet of those around me who are weary.

Let me turn away from exaltation. Let me seek the plain and simple.

(Letter #1417)