Dear God,
I seriously want to thank you for your sense of humor and for listening to my prayers. If I ever needed to know that you were present, you let me know today. This morning I was thinking carefully about what I wanted my intention to be as this is grading frenzy weekend for midterms. However, I said that I was going to make the time to perform a random act of kindness. So thank you for providing me with the time and the opportunity to extend kindness to someone who was in need.
I always laugh when people ask me how I know there is a power greater than I am and how do I see your presence in my life. There are days I want to borrow the name of a poet colleague of mine and call you The Ancient Eavesdropper. Today alone, I saw your presence in the water that ran through my pipes when I turned on the faucet. Every time it comes on, I am reminded of a story that Mary Paterson tells in her book The Monks and Me. She had gone to Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village and her first night there she went to take a shower and there was no water. Her first story was about the lessons she learned from this experience and how she became present in it. Anytime I wash dishes, wash my hands, shower, flush the toilet, do laundry, brush my teeth, or do anything that requires water I know you have been working to ensure that my needs are met. I saw you today as the snow continued to melt and the benches and berms were revealed to me.
I felt your presence while I met with a few people I had planned to meet with, but more importantly with those who I had not planned on and who became the answer to the intent I put out to you this morning. So thank you for once again confirming your presence in my life and that you do hear and answer prayers. I see your presence in the life of those I love when you bring about healing, remind them that you are listening, and have not abandoned or forsaken them.
I feel your presence every time I walk up and down the hallway. I feel your presence every time I do not fall. I feel your presence every time I go to the bathroom and remember the day that I could not. I see your presence in the specialists you have sent into my life as they have gotten to the root of a problem I did not even know existed. I feel your presence every time I inhale and exhale, knowing that the energy I am breathing in and out is connecting me from you and to others. I feel your presence when I put my foot on the emotional brake and take it off the gas, as I know you are helping me to remember which emotional wolf I should be feeding.
I feel your presence every time I am able break through the prison bars of something from my past. I feel your presence every time I experience something new. I experience your presence when I hold a cup of hot tea in my warm hands. I experience your presence when I smell the fresh air. I experience your presence every time my wheelchair runs properly and then again when you send Bill out here to fix it and it does not require any parts to do so. I feel your presence when you wake me up in the morning and when you help me fall asleep at night.
But perhaps most of all I feel your presence when others ask me if I do and I realize that the senses you have given me are a gift from you, my ancient eavesdropper who hears and answers my prayers and creates ways for my intentions to be manifested. Thank you!