I was tapped on the shoulder or in other words asked if I would participate again at the next National Day of Prayer service here on the Island. It is the first Thursday in May I think, a long way away maybe but I have to gather my where-with-all which may take a while. Although inspiration usually hits like a lightning bolt, no muss, no fuss.

Just some slight background, NDP, has been around for a while and is where we take it upon ourselves to pray for our leadership on all levels to do an upright job. It would be fair to say that in our community it is not very popular no matter the flavor of our leadership. Somehow there is a smell of the right wing around this event and the local majority runs away from it like the plague.

But none the less I persist to support it. A couple, two good friends, are largely responsible for organizing it for a while now. They work hard to birth it year after year. It would be nice if it flourished but that seems far away. But it remains fortunately but in an under appreciated way.

But, so I will speak and try to bring some inspiration to the situation. Below is a poem that I wrote for the occasion and that I read there last year. It was a prayer for the sick and infirmed.

A PRAYER FOR THE SICK AND INFIRMED

As our earthy clothing becomes torn and tattered
in the rough and tumble
so it goes with our bodies.
Why is this Lord we ask?

Some of us, we suffer.
Why us we ask?
Is this fair we ask?
Please Lord open our eyes and our ears.

Some die before others.
And whose turn is next?
Who sets this clock?
Please Lord open us to understanding,

Why are some of us chosen for this journey
of the “The Sick and Infirmed.”
What is our purpose now?
We wrestle to make sense of our suffering, of the uncertainty.
Give us a hint Lord.

We know that you are the Wellspring of Mercy.
This mercy is what ultimately will bring us to peace.
In the shelter of this peace we are hoping
some of the answers will appear.

May the tangles in our minds be loosened, our knots untied.
May the knowing of your bigger picture bridge over
our times of personal smallness.

We are grateful.
We are hopeful.
Give us strength.
Lead us through.

All in the name of our Savior. Amen.

Phil Volker 5/2/19 National Day of Prayer

OK, off to the morning walk, Felipé.