Tags
Artist God, beauty, breath of God, creation prayer, emus, God's grace, God's image, grace, hope, light, pelicans, prayer, spirit
God of pelicans and emus,
God of wetlands and deserts,
God of strangers, neighbors and friends,
yours is a world of astonishing grace.
When the morning sun creeps silently over the hills,
and the day begins to hum with activity,
we remind ourselves that this day too belongs to you.
Our lives are wrapped in the movement of time
stretching all the way back
to the day you first called forth light.
With an Artist’s hand you drew the contours
of land and sea, hillside and valley,
and a sky that stretches beyond human imagining.
Yet you left room for other artists, made in your image,
to add their interpretive strokes of shadow and light.
You encourage us to observe the beauty in and around us,
so that we too can create places where hope shines through.
Yet some days we grow tired
and our partnership with you seems like mere duty.
Some days our eyes grow weary
and we cannot see the world in hopeful ways.
Grant us your vision,
God who is Spirit,
God who is Artist,
God who breathes life into our lives.
Help us to see anew the possibilities before us—
to welcome the stranger in our midst,
to welcome the beauty of this day,
to welcome the grace that is life with you and one another.
Photos taken by Dallis Richardson at Montana de Oro State Park near Los Osos, California. Words by Mark Richardson.
Steve said:
So beautiful, each of you and together.
mark lloyd richardson said:
Thanks, Steve. Back at you!
Joanna said:
I love the line ‘God of pelicans and emus’. It speaks so much of God’s love of diversity, reassures that there is no such thing as ‘not fitting in’ when it comes to his kingdom.
mark lloyd richardson said:
Thank you, Joanna. I agree with you.
Dallis said:
I loved that line, too. In fact, I had to remind myself what an emu is, and was sad to realize I had no emu photos.
Beautiful prayer/poem, my dear!
mark lloyd richardson said:
We must go in search of emus! Please book our trip immediately!
marian kaser said:
Mark and Dallis,
You need to publish a book with Mark’s poetry paired with Dallis’s photography!!! The combination is breathtaking and touches the soul! What a team!
mark lloyd richardson said:
Thank you, our dear friend, Marian!
marian kaser said:
Is the picture of the steps from San Juan Batista?
mark lloyd richardson said:
Yes it is! From a few years ago. But I’ll be changing it to a spring photo from Montana de Oro soon!
figmentsandimagination said:
Wonderfu! I just found your blog through http://lscotthoughts.com/; Lauren’s Blog. Our Pastor reccently shared that he prayed daily, “Lord enable me to see what you are doing around me, so that I can be apart of it”; things start popping up out of the blue, miracles happen (that were already happening around us in the first place) if our eyes are wide open. 🙂
Nice to meet you Mark!
mark lloyd richardson said:
Sharon, it’s nice to meet you and your family through your blog. It looks like you have an adventurous life, and I look forward to reading more. I agree with you, we need only keep our eyes open and we will be surprised by the gifts of God every day. Peace, Mark