The rain has been falling steadily since I woke on this grey Monday morning. The worries of the day fall steadily beside the rain. Neither lets up. The sound of the rain outside echoes the sound of worries in my head.
My weather app says that heavy rain will fall for another 51 minutes, then – only a drizzle. Maybe my worries will echo this. Heavy right now, but gradually fading to drips and drops.
I press pause willing both to stop. But they both continue, persistent and drenching.
I’m in Rockport, my place of healing and rest, where the rocks and the sea meet with crashes of foam – nature’s majesty reflecting our creator.
I close my eyes.
I breathe, exhaling fears and worries, inhaling words of truth. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. With each inhale I breathe in the gift of life. And so I thank God for the rain (though my cellar may be flooding, and my spirit drowning). They say that gratitude precedes the miracle, so I give thanks and I wait for a miracle on this Monday morning, and as I wait, I pray.
Lord God, On this Monday morning the rain falls, my worries with it. Yet you are the God who urges me not to worry, who says "Don't be anxious!" May I rest as a lily of the field today, May I see the rain as your gift. May I exhale worry and fear and inhale your peace. May I walk as one who is beloved, resting in grace. May I accept what comes this day. May I know your joy. May I know your presence, your wisdom, your peace. May the words of the Psalmist fill my soul "May your unfailing love be with us Lord, even as we put our hope in you."* In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen
*Psalm 33, verse 22
Marilyn R. Gardner 
It sounds âheavyâ and âpersistently uncomfortableâ Marilyn⦠I donât know what itâs about, I donât need to⦠but âthis one thing I know, God in great mercy pardoned me, snapped sinâs fetter and set me freeâ¦â, and so from this southern part of New Zealand, I hold you in this sacred space of waiting and wondering, hurting and healing, and breath with you, and for you. Our God Who says âDonât be anxiousâ doesnât say it as a command or a rebuke⦠He says it because He knows we are wired to be â anxious â to have too much cortisol raging through our bodies at times â to be aware of the enormity of oh-so-many-things⦠and He wants to remind us â gently – that He is right here with us and so our anxiety, is being held by Him too, and Heâs rubbing our back like a soothing mother, and saying âThere, there, my beautiful daughter, itâs OK, donât be anxious, Iâm with you and wonât ever leave you⦠â
Thank you for your honest prayer and expression which resonates with so many of us.
Together â
Helen
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I Just add an ‘Amen.
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Thank you Marilyn. I love that you are at the ocean with the breaking waves. We are in our new home in Greensboro, NC. This morning I can feel what you are speaking of and I read a good piece by Ted Dekker (the author who grew up in Indonesia). Happy to share it. May the peace of Yeshua, and his Presence rest on you.
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Amen!
And to this prayer I add my own:
Holy One—You know Marilyn grew up in a region familiar with the monsoons— and mudslides and leaky roofs and flooded basket ball courts— She’s seen enough rain. She’s been drenched to the bone. And now more rain. Again. Still. To be honest– she’s weary of it. Please in your mercy stop the downpour and the drizzle. Stop the deluge and the dripping sprinkles. In your mercy, hear her prayer. And my prayer for her. I humbly ask for dry ground for Marilyn. Part the wet water and bring her through to a dry space, a safe space, a sitting space. More than a momentary umbrella interlude, I ask for a clear sky, sundried, long afternoon and a crystalline evening. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen
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PS. Is that a fly on the screen? :)
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Auntie Polly (& Ed!) —you made me burst out laughing!!
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Thank you, Marilyn for these thoughts and the prayer. I love you. Mom (typed by Ed :) )
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This is beautiful, Marilyn, and speaks to my present state of heart. Love you ❤️
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