Thank You for Each Moment

April 13, 2007

This morning, before the Mass started, I saw a girl who reminded me of pleasant childhood experiences. She was busily arranging flowers in a can which she used as a vase. When I was her age, I would pick flowers from Nanay’s humble garden, arrange them in a bottle, and put the bottle in my playhouse. Sometimes, I would bring flowers to school. My classmates and I would arrange the flowers in a vase which we put on our adviser’s table. And we would eagerly anticipate our teacher’s reaction upon seeing flowers on her table. How time flies.

I tend to get quite reflective about time, sometimes. However, I don’t dwell much on the “what if’s” and “what might have beens.” I am always wondering what is coming up around the next bend, reflecting more on what I will become than on what I have become. I am always looking to the future, anticipating lots of opportunities to learn more from my work, my relationships, and my spirituality. I know there are so many exciting things to come and I am excited as to what the forthcoming years hold for me. So wish me luck and if it’s not too much to ask, do send me birthday cheers hehehe. Yep, it’s my birthday. Happy birthday to me!

I have been so blessed and I have so much to be grateful for, even if I had to go through so many trials and difficulties. The following prayer pretty much says it all for me. It is from Ted Loder’s Guerillas of Grace. The title of this prayer is the title of this post.

Lord, thank you for each moment,
for the blue-sky moment,
the softening earth,
the refreshing wind,
the yellow bush,
for my full heart
and the joy rising in me.
Soften me
to receive whatever comes as a gift
and to praise you in it.

Lord, thank you for each moment
for the twilight moment,
the pause,
the good tired,
for the quiet reflection,
the slowing down,
the mysterious sunset,
for the wisdom growing inside me.
Gentle me
to feel whatever comes as a gift
and to praise you in it.

Lord, thank you for each moment,
for the midnight moment,
the loneliness,
the fretful wondering,
for the watchful stars,
the long ache,
the sleepless wait,
and the hope straining in me.
Focus me
to see whatever comes as a gift
and to praise you in it.

Lord, thank you for each moment,
for the high-noon moment,
the job,
the necessary routine,
for the sweaty struggle,
the impulse to change,
and the courage gathering in me.
Ground me
to wrestle with whatever comes as a gift
and to praise you in it.

Lord, thank you for each moment,
for the shared moment,
the listening,
the unguarded word,
for the fragile openness,
the ready smile,
the accepted difference,
for my passionate heart
and the trust rooting in me.
Stretch me
to grow with whatever comes as a gift
and to praise you in it.

Thank you for each moment,
for the charged moment,
the confrontation,
for the hard decision,
the unexpected growing,
for my intense heart
and the truth expanding in me.
Free me
to be open to whatever comes as a gift
and to praise you in it.

Thank you for each moment,
for the holy moment,
the music,
the child's eyes,
for the sunlight,
the touch,
the tears,
for the trembling pleasure,
the unutterable beauty,
for the life and love and heart in me aware,
and the wholeness spreading in me.
Touch me
through whatever comes as a gift
That I may be grateful
and praise you in it.