Prayer in the Father's Honor

I'm back. I missed a week due to vacation -- my husband, children and I went camping on the Oregon Coast. Before that, I missed a week due to being overwhelmed and depressed. So the vacation came at a good time. The beauty and majesty of the Oregon Coast always speak to my soul, and it was beyond wonderful to have all my family together -- laughing, hiking, playing in the sand, exploring tide pools and hunting for agates.

Today's Oswald seems like a good one upon which to re-enter.

"Oh, the clamor of these days! Everyone is clamoring . . . There is no room here for the Son of God just now, no room for quiet, holy communion with the Father" -- Oswald.

Room. I want there to be room in my life. I don't want to scribble in all the margins -- squeezing out any sense of extra space, of quiet, unfilled moments, of expectancy, of waiting. But it is so, so easy to overfill my life -- with time wasters, yes, but with good things, as well. There is my work. For a good and noble cause -- a rescue mission serving the homeless and preaching the gospel. And then there is my perfectionism about my work. There are my children, their various involvements, my husband, my garden, my house and all my household duties. There are friends. And books. And church. There is no end of good things -- recipes, flowers, words -- but they will not all fit.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Oh, God, the world is constantly clamoring. Help me to be wise in terms of what I allow into my life. There are many wonderful things that I cannot see or do or plant or make or read or experience . . .

Peace. I will seek you first. I will make room in my life for holy communion. I will quiet the clamor.