Who is Good, Who does Good, and Who works for Good all day long…

Encountering beauty this Fall in Colorado inspires me to remember Goodness.

I do not have a consistent habit of setting intentions for the day - although I try to begin my day with some words of thanksgiving rather than anxiety. I try to begin acknowledging God’s grace that buoyes us through every moment.

Two prayers came to mind this morning as I rubbed sleep from my eyes, and they help me to be encountered by beauty.

I came across this prayer in one of my Jewish prayer books more than a decade years ago:

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, who is good and who does good.

And from a morning prayer found in the United Methodist Book of Worship:

New every morning is your love, Great God of light,

and all day long you are working for good in the world.

Stir up in us desire to serve you,

to live peacefully with our neighbors,

and to devote each day to your Son,

our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

These have shaped my day with hope, as I remember that shining light is something that the light of the world does ALL THE TIME.

Even though I grow weary in shining light, or the news of war and tragedy wear me down, or the scathing, diabolical political talk obscures beauty, this does not stop God’s on-going work of redemption.

God is good, God does good, and all day long God works for the redemption and restoration of the world. Alleluia. Amen.