Finding strength in vulnerability

Help us,
O Holy One,
to balance our openness
with strength;
to face our vulnerability --
to know it
with the gentle familiarity
of the hair we comb
or the face we confront in the mirror --
and still be conscious of that inner core
which you inhabit with such grace.
Help us to gaze upon
the rest of your creation
with acceptance,
and compassion;
help us to trust our own abilities
to sort out good from bad,
safe from unsafe,
love from false flattery and delusion,
and in the sorting find a vehicle
for carrying your Peace into the world.


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