Kitchen Table Wisdom

B & W copy of original watercolor by C. Dawes

God of refuge,

I am tired of running.
I have raced from one worry to another,
from one fear to the next,
searching for a place where the fire cannot reach me.

Sometimes I have mistaken distraction for refuge.
I have reached for things that promised relief,
only to discover they could not give me peace.
Teach me to be still.

When I cannot put out the fire,
give me a safe place to remain while it burns.

When I am tempted to run again,
draw me nearer to you.

And when I see someone else running,
help me remember what it is to be weary.
Keep me from whispering from a distance
when I could draw near.
Show me how to become part of the refuge
I am asking you to provide.

Make your church a place
where tired people can rest,
where frightened people can breathe,
where struggling people can be known,
and where no one has to pretend
the fire isn’t burning.

Hold us in your love
until we remember that we are not alone.

Be our refuge amid the distraction.

Amen.

Inspiration: “A Refuge amid Distraction,” The United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989), no. 535. Attributed in the hymnal to “Trad. India.”