Dear God,
I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!
Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?
Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?
Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me.
And what you want to give me is love—
Unconditional, everlasting love.
Amen.***
Questions for meditation to consider in addition to the bold questions above:
- Who are the people hidden in plain view? How can I open my eyes to see the unacknowledged more clearly?
- What am I holding tightly in my clenched fist? How is my clenched fist keeping me from opening my hand to receive new blessings?
- The great African American theologian, Howard Thurman once said, “If you are more committed to your commitments than you are committed to God, you have made your commitments a god.” How do my commitments keep me from receiving God and others with an open heart?
***Prayer is an excerpt from Henri J. M. Nouwen, With Open Hands,
(Notre Dame: Avia Maria Press, 2006), p. 27