People crowd into a job fair in New Brunswick, New Jersey on January 7, 2009. The economic news this morning went from grim to grimmer, with unemployment hitting a 16-year high. Yesterday, the Concord Pastor offered this timely prayer for a friend who had just lost his job. It concludes with the soulful words of Julian of Norwich, words that have given me hope during trying times:
O God,
every good gift comes from your hand
and you have been generous to so many
in so many ways…But the times are changing
and things we have taken for granted
are slipping from our hands and beyond our reach…As the economy falters
keep our stride firm and strong
even when the familiar path
slips from beneath our step…Renew our trust in your care for us
and in the help that we can offer each other…Help us to know the things we truly need,
to let go the things we only want
and to know the difference between the two…As we let go the extra things, the frills and frolics,
teach us to love the simpler things
and especially the simple joys
that bring us together…Help us to accept what we have lost
and give us the strength to look again
for work and for hope…Make us quick to help our neighbor
and to accept our neighbor’s help…Give us the grace of a new beginning
even when we’re not sure
where or how to begin…Renew our desire to be close to you
and refresh a spirit of prayer within us…Hear us when we cry out to you
and give us confidence
that you hear our every prayer…Help us to trust in you, O God,
“that all shall be well,
and that all shall be well,
and that all manner of things shall be well…”Our Father…
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