Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for whiskers—
wiggly on rabbit cheeks,
dainty on mice,
captivating on a lion yawning,
cute on a kitten.
Blessed are You
for whiskers on my man,
reassuring to my face
as I lie against him,
warm under the comforter.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for being my whiskers,
sensing what lies ahead,
informing my movements,
showing what my eyes don’t see,
ever-faithful guardian.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for anger,
thorny path to passion,
showing me
what I care enough to fight for,
and whose good opinion I seek.
Blessed are You
for the reminders, daily,
that I am not in control.
I want to shout until I am,
bend the world with anger
until it makes sense,
until my children listen.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for burning fury
unearthing expectations
I didn’t know I had.
I’m not clear on what “holy anger” is,
but I think You get mad sometimes too,
when Your kids pick on each other.
Even so, Your reckless love embraces me
when my anger is wholly unholy.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for a thousand nights
falling asleep to Daddy’s guitar,
waking up to the sound of Mommy opening
the heavy curtains in the living room,
curtains she made.
Blessed are You
for frozen banana cream on warm cornbread,
buckets of succulent, sugary blackberries,
and the midday vegetable juice
I sometimes poured out
between the porch boards.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for walks up Corn Creek Road,
one litter each of puppies and kittens,
rides in the green cart piled with dry cut grass,
the certainty of my parents’ faithfulness
to life and to each other,
under it all like bedrock.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for raindrops,
pesky on glasses,
risky on a white t-shirt,
frisky as they land with a splash
in roadside puddles.
Blessed are You
for the wideness of meaning
in a raindrop:
hope—the end of drought,
fear—a tropical storm,
irritation—picnic at the park,
boredom—long and rainy spring.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for the elegance of raindrops,
their tidy round wetness
highlighting beauty as they pause
on blades of grass, bluebird feathers,
rose petals, pine needles,
or dangle from the tiniest twig.
How do they hold on without fingers?
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for starlings
in shapeshifting flocks
clouds of wings,
or neat rows on power lines
trailing stragglers at each end.
Blessed are You
for cacophony in the pecan tree this morning,
commanding my attention
as I step outside and look upward,
stare until I find movement,
the lean and pointy shape of a bird.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for the company of starlings
floating and flapping,
unaware they catch my eye
and remind me that You know
each one.
Maybe I, too, can know a starling someday.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for what I can’t do alone—
friendship and love,
hugs and kisses,
move a piano,
put a bandaid on my back,
play tag,
sing harmony.
Blessed are You
for what I don’t want
to do alone—
celebrate Christmas,
feel overwhelmed,
blow out candles,
put together a puzzle,
go to the theater.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for coming to a world
tired of being alone
as Emmanuel, “I am with you,”
and for creating me to crave
love and laughter,
connection and collaboration,
touch and togetherness,
melting into others
the way You melt into me.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for celebration—
a handshake
or handmade card,
a hatful of money
or armful of flowers.
Blessed are You
for birthday parties
and white elephant gifts,
balloon bouquets
and long-stemmed roses,
graduation caps
and dance recitals,
fireworks, hot dogs,
folks gathered together.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for water drops on flower petals,
rainbows and radiant children.
Birdcalls announce morning,
crickets herald evening,
wordless celebration,
sun setting, moon rising,
Your banner over me is
love.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for warm mug in hand,
steam rising,
tea sweet with creamer.
Blessed are You
for Phrank—the cat—
purring on my lap,
face pinched with old age;
for leaves edged thinly with brown,
hinting at Autumn;
for the last bucket
of grapes from the vine,
complete with spiders,
ladybugs, and earwigs.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for tiny green berries
hidden in green leaves
surrounding our porch.
The berries will turn red,
the leaves will flame with color
and I will cut
a handful of branches
and put them in a vase
and say, Thank You for this,
for life.
Blessed are You
Lord our God
King of the Universe
for 18 years of marriage,
of love—
bitter / sweet
comforting / unsettling
lonely / intimate
full
Blessed are You,
for I have seen You
in Michael’s face
in his words
his steadfastness
forgiveness
Blessed are You
Lord our God
King of the Universe
for duck pond dates
pillow talk and pillow tears
Ted Lasso
role reversals
one-liners
friendship
Blessed are You
for we have loved and endured
each other
and each other’s families.
We have learned by participation
what hurts and what heals.
Seeing, seeing
seeing each other
and then again
forever
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for bouncy green parrots,
moss, and mint ice cream,
firm green limes,
green toenail polish.
Blessed are You
for green smoothies and green tea,
guacamole on yellow corn chips,
green apples and green beans,
zucchini sautéed with Portabellos.
Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe;
green was, I suppose, Your idea—
humans with green eyes,
frogs with green bodies,
lily pads and spinach,
tropical green fish—
these are a few of my favorite greens.
My Favorite Subject 