OPENING PRAYER
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy; O come, let us adore him. BCP 32
THE REFRAIN
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her [when morning dawns]. Psalm 46:5 ESV
THE WORD OF GOD/A READING
For One Who is Exhausted by John O’Donohue
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight.
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.
Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.
The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.
You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken in the race of days.
At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.
You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.
REFRAIN
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her [when morning dawns]. Psalm 46:5 ESV
PRAYERS
Lord, I know you are refining my heart, mind, and spirit through motherhood, and I thank you for that. I ask for the wisdom to slow down more often and see the ways you’re forming me. I ask for an unhurried pace and for gentleness for myself knowing that my day and my identity is not defined by my productivity. Lord, it’s in you that I have worth. In you alone, and that will never change. – Rachel
CONCLUSION
The Collect of the Day (BCP, p 89)
Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit into our hearts, to direct and rule us according to your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into the truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.