Thoughts and Prayers

   O God, your creature says, “Thank you for giving us Day and Night so that we may

   order our lives. Help us to use our days and nights wisely. May we never take for

   granted the beauty of the creation we can see in the light of day, whether it be a

   person, a sunrise, a sunset, a plant, or an animal. Every fine detail is your divine

   handiwork. We appreciate your love for us as shown to us every day and night.

   And thank you, Lord, for the sky. You provide us with breath, with beauty, with

   life-sustaining refreshing rainwater, and with a medium for travel, and so much

   more. Forgive us for any part we play in polluting that sky. Teach us to treasure

   all the resources around us; show us how to use them wisely. Amen.”

In a world in which so much is refined, manufactured, developed, invented, and mechanized, we might not think about the bigger basic things such as the land masses and the seas. Sometimes it is helpful in our prayer life to back up to the basics. With all the possible dangers from climate change, natural disasters, pollution, and pandemic, we need to consider the blessings we enjoy, because we are gifted with so much land and water.

            And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one

   place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land

   Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. (Gen. 1:9-10)

   God, your creature says, “Divine Creator, we are grateful for your life-sustaining

   gifts of land and water. Grant us the wisdom to unselfishly protect and

   conserve these gifts. Help us to keep our priorities in order. May we give glory to

   you by diligently caring for your creation and each other. Amen.”

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Photo by OC Gonzalez on Unsplash

Scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sharon Krause is a RENEW volunteer whose writing has appeared in several resources for small-group faith sharing. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother residing in Manchester, Connecticut. Over the years, she has served in many parish ministries.