Spring Flowers, Lemons & Pots of Purple

Grab the moment #3

I woke up this morning with the Serenity Prayer on my lips. It came from my dream.

God grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

and Wisdom to know the difference.

This prompt to pray felt like a gift from God. A gentle reminder of what it means to live one day at a time and to grab the moments. An acknowledgement that living with change requires acceptance, courage and wisdom. An assurance that God walks alongside us in our challenges.

The prayer was written by Reinhold Neibuhr in 1934. I knew the prayer was popular among those who have a Christian faith and in secular settings too. What I didn’t realise is that it became popular after being used in Alcoholics Anonymous and other addiction services. The 12 step programme comes from this prayer.

“God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
Amen”.

The full prayer speaks of ‘living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time’. How apt for our little mini-series of grabbing moments for sensory prayer.

A freesia greets the new morning.

Today’s ‘Grab the moment’ prayers are a continuation from last week’s post. They’re outdoor prayers in the early morning. They’re less about intention and completing a task like hanging out washing or putting the rubbish out, and more about taking a moment to notice the world around me. A pause. An invitation to be present. An opening to hear from God. I’m a sucker for getting an energy boost from seeing a sunbeam poking out from a cloud, a bird singing it’s morning song, a blossoming flower… those tiny hints of God’s creation in joyful display…. that’s me enjoying one moment at a time.

‘Potos of Purple Prayer” - a pot of purple flowers… planted with prayers for loved ones

Pots of Purple

I also wanted to share with you an intentional prayer from this week. I’ve called it ‘Pots of Purple’ and it has a grab the moment vibe to it, but did require a little bit of organising to make it happen and create the environment where I can have future ‘grab the moment’ prayers. As I mentioned last week we went to our lovely friend Joyce’s funeral last weekend. She was almost 103. Her grandchildren had filled the hall for the afternoon tea with purple plants from the garden centre, and we were invited to take a pot home with us. Joyce was a keen gardener in the generation of gardeners who had gardens filled with plants grown with cuttings from friends and plenty of stories to match.

On my day off on Wednesday instead of catching up with many Kereru tasks, I painted a pot and planted my purple cineraria from the funeral. As I worked, I prayed with gratitude to God for the faith-filled life of Joyce. She’ll be one of those who will be ‘supremely happy’ with her Lord and her God in the next life. So happy was I with this planting prayer task, that as soon as I finished Iplanting my purple cineraria Iap went up to the local garden centre and bought a few purple violas. As I planted each of the purple pots of colour into my larger pot, I prayed for the children and grandchildren of Joyce. I prayed that they’d live their own lives with the influence of Joyce a part of their present and their future. I had a nice time praying. It all felt like my own sending off of Joyce, a private farewell and a God inspired acknowledgement of someone who I admired and learned so much from. I have a whole spring and summer ahead to enjoy the colour, and as it catches my eye each morning or as I water the pots, I can pray again for all these loved ones.

A pot of purple in memory of Joyce and 102 faith filled years

I wonder what little moments you’ve experienced this week where you’ve felt the presence of God with you, when you’ve felt inspired to pray, where you’ve intentionally taken notice and set aside time for prayer? I’d love to hear your stories. Pop them in the comments or send me an email!

May God be with you in your own challenges and changes and may there be moments to grab this week to reflect and to pray.

On the journey

Caroline