“Grateful Child”
Gracious Heavenly Father, Warm and Nurturing Mother,
How hard it is to call you Father or Mother at times,
because of the sorrowful ways
that I was sometimes treated
by my own earthly parents.
But regardless, Your many Names remain holy
And extraordinary to me, because
You created all
that is good… yes,
You that is Goodness Itself.
You created me, for reasons You alone
know, within my particular family.
I thank you, Abba God,
for the lessons I learned and the
graces I received through them.
Mother God, I am grateful for countless things;
thank you for my daily bread,
for the very air I breathe,
and for all that I take for granted that was
given by your Holy Hand.
Forgive me, Holy Parent, for the times
that I forget your continuous Presence
within and around me.
It is You in Whom I live and move and have my being.
Help me to forgive others, and remind me
that they also live in
Your Light and in Your Love.
For all glory, all honor, and all love
are Yours – in the Now and in the splendid Not-Yet.
I pray in the Name of your Son, who is
my Savior… and the whole world’s.
I wrote this prayer several months ago for people who have a hard time thinking of God as only a man or as only a woman. I wrote it also for the faithful who have trouble calling God their Father, because of their wounded childhoods. And it was written for those who cannot think of God as their Mother, because of their wounded childhoods.
Whatever name or pronoun you need to use in order to grow in our relationship with God, I encourage you to use it. God knows our brokenness and understands when we have trouble speaking to the Holy Presence. God wants to help preserve our hope when life is hard and to grace us with strength through our worst anxieties.
May God's Peace be with you. 💙
