space

      It’s often kinder (and harder) to give a person space for thinking and feeling and struggling than to crowd that space with well-intentioned words.

“He who restrains his lips is wise.” Proverbs 10:19

“[T]o be humble is to remember that we are not God.” Christine Paintner

against all odds

      Sometimes, against all odds, loss and stripping away turn out to be great gain.

“Since my house burned down/I now own a better view/of the rising moon.” Mizuta Masahide

“[A] time to mourn, and a time to dance. . . .” Ecclesiastes 3:4

please change me

      When you give somebody a lot (of time or energy or whatever you have) and he doesn’t thank you, you can live in a soup of resentment, or you can ask to be changed.

“God loves it when the giver delights in giving.” 2 Corinthians 9:7

Father, please change me into a giver who delights in giving. 

the gift of now

      If right-now has gifts to give, wishing it were yesterday or tomorrow (or otherwise different) will make them very hard to spot.

“I accept the gift of now as it is.” Ann Voscamp

“I will give You thanks. . . .” Psalm 35:18

asking for help

      When your faults appear front-and-center, it’s tempting to try really hard to change, but accepting where you are and asking for help (one day at a time) is a lot more fruitful.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. . . .” Serenity prayer

“Create a clean heart in me, O God.” Psalm 51:10

giving thanks

      If giving thanks feeds trust (which feeds things like contentment and joy), why not?

“We . . . give thanks and the thanks itself . . . nourishes. Thanks feeds our trust.” Ann Voskamp

“[G]ive thanks. . . .” 1 Thessalonians 5:18