Attentive to Joy

God rest in my heart

and fortify me,

take away my hunger for answers…

                        Mary Oliver

What a perfect prayer for me today. 

REST in my heart, God—

Don’t just be here but rest here, get comfortable, take your own kind of time, relax, take refuge, lean in, don’t worry, find comfort, forget, enjoy, just be—all of those things are rest for me—are they the same for you?

FORTIFY me—

I’ve been troubled, heavy in my heart, sad, loving, and occasionally surprised, but mostly I look to the wrong things to fill my heart and mind.  Fortify seems to mean what will build me up, strengthen what I already am, and encourage what will help me face whatever comes, all the hard things.  And maybe, I will know God’s presence alongside the woe.

TAKE AWAY my hunger for answers—

My will to solve each mystery, to figure out why and when it will be fixed, healed, made new—for the better of me—and what I perceive to be true.  Show me how to let go and let God, to not make “it” my business.