A Prayer for the Frustrated
by Meg Riley
Your car won’t start
Your computer melted down
The baby won’t quit crying
The rice burnt
It’s a frustrating day
Can you savor the whole mess?
Can you breathe deeply and say,
Yes, this is life, not just the roses
But the aphids
Not just the kisses
But the quarrels, this one all my fault?
Can you smile, shake your head, and say,
This is life. These are the frustrations of life.
Can you count your blessings even so?
Can you see, over the steam coming out your ears,
The traitorous mouse and keyboard as your friends?
Can you know, as they push every button you’ve got,
How blessed you are that your kids usually listen?
Can you laugh, even as you scream in the shower?
Life is a mess. A big mess.
Messy when we’re born, messy when we die,
Messy every day in between.
Let’s love that whole big mess, love it up,
Count ourselves lucky.
May we know ourselves blessed on this earth.
Meg Riley is senior minister at CLF. She’s been a UU minister for twenty years. As a UU kid in West Virginia, she quickly learned to enjoy being ‘different,’ which has served her well in a ‘different’ life. Riley lives in Minneapolis, where she enjoys walking by lakes, gardening, reading and writing, and in social media, where she enjoys hanging out, keeping up with people, and playing the occasional game of Scrabble. She is the parent of a teenager, and the companion of a number of four legged friends.
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