For the New Year

Elwha-River-log-Scott-Church-copyThis New Year prayer opens by comparing both the gift of life and the flow of time to the movement of a river. It ends with gratitude and the longing for peace. Appropriate for Rosh Hashana and the secular new year, it appears with other New Year’s eve prayers in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day.

For the New Year
G-d of time and space,
Hand of rhythm and grace,
You’ve granted me moments and breaths,
Life like a river,
Rapids and flats,
Deep narrow canyons
And bright open skies,
Thundering, churning waters
And calm gentle flows.
A life of beauty and wonder
Beyond my understanding,
Beyond my wildest dreams.
And yet,
And still, Heavenly Redeemer,
You also give me choices,
To live in grief or joy,
Fear or awe,
Tears or laughter.
To lift my life in glory and radiance,
A shining light of kindness and love.

© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day

Postscript: Here’s a meditation called “Another Year: An Introspection.”

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo credit: Scott Church / National Park Service

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