There’s a little recitation in the midst of Morning Prayer that is in a call and response format; the person leading prayer reads the first part, and everyone responds. It is a compilation from several bits of Scripture. It includes this sentence from Psalm 67. What that means is that every morning, I recite this sentence. So when I read it in the psalm, it warmed my heart because it is so familiar.
Morning Prayer in its entirety has become familiar. It is a wonderful structure of consistent prayers and scripture readings that differ. There are parts I can settle in to and recite because I know the words. There are parts I rest in. And then there are the parts where I’m actively listening to the new words from God. In that mix of familiar and new, my mind settles in and is able to pray and to listen to God.
Even though I haven’t been writing daily, Morning Prayer has continued to be my morning rule. As we are looking at slowly reopening, I am thinking about how my Rule of Life, or my daily practices should adjust. Perhaps I will alternate writing with some intentional exercise, every other day. Perhaps I’ll pick up Evening Prayer, which is structured much like Morning Prayer. Or the prayers for bedtime, known as Compline. Like with everything that’s reopening, I’m hoping to retain the best of what I’ve learned and gotten accustomed to, as opposed to just returning to my previous normal.
I believe I’ll be returning to work next week, face mask and all. It won’t be like the past three months of working from home. It won’t be like the years before that. It will be like nothing I’ve seen or done. My mornings will be different too, as I get ready to go and add my commute time in my day.
As I reenter a new and different world, I plan to rely on my regular morning prayer time, as something that is familiar and comforting.
This morning, I’m thinking about the comfort of familiar things, especially when it seems most everything else is changing.
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