Prayer of the Empty Cup

 

God, on a day when we are typically focused on turkeys and stuffing and getting the meal timed just right . . . when we are focused on parades and football games and online sales aimed to get ahead of Black Friday . . . when we are busy thinking about the week-end and what is coming up next, the Christmas season beckoning . . .

Perhaps we can let go of all of that – if only for a minute, an hour, a moment – and slow down.  Step back. Look around. And truly take in every good little detail that surrounds us: our safety, our homes, our friends and family; our health, our faith, our freedom to believe whatever we choose; the Earth and trees and sky and sunlight’s warming rays; our children’s smiling faces.

Perhaps today, we can set aside any heaviness weighing us down and give this day a clean, unfettered heart.

In that spirit God, let us be empty today.  Empty of meanness and hate.  Regret and remorse. Empty of judgments and ideas of right and wrong, black and white. Empty of small ideas that no longer serve us.

Let us BE Lord, together, in that empty space free of clouds or darkness.  And let us fill our cups with only those things that truly matter and that contribute to our families and our world in a positive way.  Let us strive, each day, to fill our own and others’ wells with good: a smile, a compliment, a helping hand. A listening ear, a warm embrace, a hot meal. A letter, a phone call, a prayer.

God, let us be artful in our thanks today. For the emptiness that makes more room for the fullness.  For the fullness that comes from our blessings overflowing.

Let’s come to the table of life with an empty cup and fill it each day with GOOD.

Amen.