Help me to see each moment as a gift from You, so that I will not wait to rejoice. No matter how mundane the tasks that fill this day, remind me often to recognize each moment as a gift from Your hand. Do not let me squander Your moments. Do not let me cordon off certain moments, refusing to see in them the possibility of joy. Instead, open my heart to Your beauty in the work and challenges and the company that fill this day.
Stop me when I would spoil one of Your fresh, new moments by burdening it with shame-filled thoughts of past moments poorly-lived. Teach me to empty my pockets of all such sullied moments, placing them into Your good hands to be removed from me as far as the east is from the west. Later, if I look for them, in kindness remind me instead to rejoice in the moment at hand.
Stop me also when I would crush one of Your fresh, new moments under the weight of future moments which You have not yet entrusted to me. Poor fresh moment! How can it hold joy if I encumber it with the dread of its successors?
Good Father, remind me again and again today of Your invitation to live whole-heartedly in the present moment, arms wide open to You.
“I am always with You. You hold me by my right hand. You wisely and tenderly lead me.” Psalm 73:23-2