Prayer for Letting Go
by: Dagmar Morgan
Everyone is talking about the last year and a half. Everyone is talking about what is going to happen next. Everyone is trying to move forward and somehow still trying to go back. Back to what life was before all of this. We all want it.
As a leader going back into physical meetings has been what I wanted most. To get back to business as usual. But it is not usual, is it? We’re not re-opening, we are re-planting. We are tilling the soil, pouring the soil, and dropping seeds to see what takes root. None of us are sure what God will do with this new crop we are tending.
It seems we’ve entered a new era. People have re-evaluated and have changed how they do church, community, and life. Some of these changes are good, healthy, even needed. As a leader, I must ask myself, who am I leading? How am I leading them? Where am I leading them to? And the truth is I don’t have the answers. I am feeling rather lost and uncertain, and so I turn to Psalm 119:176: “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.”
We have been scattered by this pandemic -- leaving behind our jobs, being thrown into new roles, losing people and living in a completely new context. We are the lost sheep, hoping that as we stumble our way through life, God will seek us out. God will see us still loving our neighbours, and those who cross our church threshold, whether it be one person or 20,000. He knows that at this time we are throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks while trying to care for those in need.
As we go through this, we need to let go of our expectations of this time. To fall in love with the mystery of God’s way and the adventure of this season. Knowing that Jesus has us, and if he does, then all things will be worked out for our good and the churches’ good. As I meditated on this idea, I wrote a prayer in the form of a poem. If you are feeling lost or unsure, read it as often as you need. May it bring you back to the joy of the walk holding the hand of the best guide life can offer. Jesus.
Prayer for Letting Go
If my hands were built
to hold forever
They would have been made
Stonehenge
If my heart were built
to beat endless
It would have been made
prototype
We cannot hold
onto constant motion
It was never ours to keep under glass
We cannot stay
Still or young
Forward cannot do a backbend
We cannot
We can only
journey as one
step reveals the next
Dagmar Morgan is an internationally published writer and two-time slam poetry champion, using spoken word as a healing mechanism. She is a strong believer of mentoring powerful, faithful next generation art successors. Dagmar’s working towards a Masters in Urban Youth Ministry/Counselling while pastoring at The Meeting House East Hamilton.