A Prayer in Spring

American poet Robert Frost wrote "A Prayer in Spring" in 1915, urging us to be witnesses of God's creation. Do you allow yourself space to be a witness, or are you -- like me -- too often focused on the busy-ness of carving new paths rather than breathing in the beauty that surrounds us? 

Consider the words of "A Prayer in Spring":

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

In our "Practicing the Way" course, we are beginning to gather on Sunday evenings in the Hite House to watch short content videos and discuss how our faith informs our lives. Each session closes with a new practice that we are encouraged to implement before we meet again. As the first session explains, "We need more than information for transformation. The practices of Jesus help to get the teachings of Jesus into the muscle memory of our bodies. They turn the idea of following Jesus into a reality in our daily life."

Practice #1 is to develop a daily prayer rhythm. As the workbook reminds us, "There's no 'right' way to do this -- you may choose to go on an early morning walk with your dog or curl up under a blanket with a cup of tea or sit cross-legged on the floor and breathe deeply. You may pray the Psalms or let a prayer app guide your medication. You may do this before the sun rises or as it sets."

There is no "right way" to pray or to witness God's creation. So how will you ensure that you do both in some way today?