Well, it must be Lent. I spent yesterday in a Lenten retreat too! This time the retreat was led by an amazing lay person in the congregation where I serve. Here is the poem from the day. Thank you Dean!


Prayer that Dwells

Most prayer is calling for help.
Then, when we get better at it,
We say "thank you."
There is plenty of "sorry" in prayer too
(although this can be overdone).
But the best prayer I know is
Quiet stillness.
It is waiting without quite knowing or needing to know
What for or why.
I find such prayer walking alone
If there is anything much like alone --
And the silence whispers "no," there is not;
No alone, as in loneliness,
Only alone as in space for self.
In that space, I walk until I find a silent stride
That requires no set destination or success,
No solid meaning or commentary,
No dramatic earthquake or storm from God.
In that hallowed, hollowed cave of alone and not really alone
Voice whispers a whirlwind
And a word too still to hear,
Too alive to ignore,
Too deep to touch
Too immediate to leave me the way I am.
The Word vaults the silence and dances the stillness
Becoming flesh
That dwells.