February 17

It has been such a roller coaster with the weather that I don't know if I'm coming or going or staying put anymore!  I get up in the morning and turn on the news to see what schools are doing and what the forecast is.  I walk the dog with trepidation: will we need his sweater, will we slip down the sidewalk, will I need to carry him through the deep snow to the shallow snow, will we need an umbrella?  How shall I dress?  What do I face if I make out of my neighborhood?

It feels unsettling, but the truth is that every day is an unknown.  We don't know what we will face, who we will encounter, how the day will go.  That is an excellent reason to begin every day with prayer.  Even before you get out of bed, maybe in those moments after you hit the snooze button, you can give your day to God. Then, when you arise, you could spend more time with God.  Maybe you could read a devotional or spend some time in silence listening to God.  However you connect with God, prayer is the best way to move into the day, whatever it may hold.

Almighty God, you know all things.  You know what each day will hold for us.  You know the joys and opportunities and the challenges that await. Please help us to turn to you every morning, to lay our day and our responses to that day into your hands.  Help us to act and speak in love, as your children.  Help us to rest secure in the confidence that you are at our side in every moment of every day.  In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Amen.