Saturday Prayer, November 13th – Memories

Holy One, this is a month of remembering
of thinking about those
who have gone before us
and the paths which they
have laid out for us.

Sometimes those paths
are easy to follow
and we go down them
without thinking about
where they are leading us.

But sometimes they are
more challenging
filled with obstacles
like fallen branches
and rivers with no bridges.

Then we need to decide
if we will continue on the way
or if we will make a new path
one which may take us
in a completely different direction.

And that is the time
we need direction
not from a map or a compass
but from you
for you are the one who sees it all clearly.

Grant us the discernment
to know when we should follow
in the footsteps of those
who laid out the paths
and when we need to make our own.

Even the easy paths
may not be the ones we should follow.
Sometimes we must break through
the wilderness
to forge new trails.

At those times
we need even more help
since breaking with tradition
requires courage and fortitude
and a certain amount of bravado.

Let us remember our traditions
but let us not be bound to all of them.
Let us recognize when a niche
has become a rut
and needs to be changed.

Let our memories bring joy
even while we are making new ones.
And when we do this
may we do it always
to your honour and glory.

Amen

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The Reverend Doctor Katherine Burgess, a second-career minister in the Presbyterian Church in Canada, serves two congregations in the province of Québec, Canada. She is one of the regular contributors to the Saturday Prayer for RevGals, and also contributes to RevGals Weekly E-Reader. She is presently living a hybrid life, with some of it – too much still – online, and other parts of it in person. She lives with her husband, Keith, a dog named Bella, and a cat named OhchoCat. She shares daily prayers on her Facebook page. She also has a blog, but rarely manages to post anything in it. 

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