Kindred Spirits

I know I've mentioned my best friends Megan and Erin before, but just to recap, they're my twin best friends who are at school up in Washington who I've known since we were 11. Erin writes an incredibly beautiful blog, which you can enjoy for yourself at scrupulology.blogspot.com.  I was catching up on in today and was brought up short by this post:

Christ and King:

If it be your will

Preserve me through the day -

Live in everything I do

And every word I say -

Master, Maker:

Mold this clay -

And show to me the narrow way. 

I named this prayer-poem, “A Dedication.” I say it close to ten times on a daily basis. It is the prayer I speak to God when I am weary, worried, overwhelmed. It is also the prayer that brings to God moments of intense consolation and praise in my life. It is my all-purpose prayer, probably because within it the God of my heart and mind is manifest. A God that is savior and king, sustainer and guide, master and maker. In this prayer, I disclose my belief in a God that recognizes and protects my identity as his beloved daughter. I profess my complete reliance on his love and mercy to carry me throughout my days. I acknowledge his formative power in my life, and invite his guidance and presence in all things. I enshrine his majesty in a quiet, simple poem; perhaps unintentionally because I see him most clearly in unassuming, accidental things. Through prayer, I have found an omnipotent God that dwells on the edges of aspen leaves and waits for me in good books and honest conversation. He is a God who has stitched himself into the fabric of my life, and stirs my soul both when I seek him out and when I stumble upon him.

It's not often that I am brought to tears by words, unless it is at the end of an emotional book because I usually need the build-up to get that kind of response. But Erin's words struck something very deep within me...something I've never found the adequate words to express before, and have now found in the words of a sister whose soul is made of the same stuff as mine. Yesterday was a day of intense prayer and reflection for me as I am seeking specific answers to some hefty life decisions, and I was so blessed to find exactly what Erin described: love and mercy to carry me, His words spoken through others, and His presence in every single thing I touched. I am deeply humbled and full of gratitude, both for my Heavenly Father and the sweet blessing of friendship.