New Years Day prayer

Whisperer of light on that first morning,
as the old year slips behind us
and the new one opens like a book
filled with empty pages,
we offer our hands and hearts to you.
Gather up the broken pieces of our dreams,
our lives, our longings which we still carry
and craft them into a mosaic of hope
we can hang on our walls to see each morning.
As this new day, as this new year begins,
continue to shape us from the dust
of your grace and love.

You stepped out of eternity
into particular moments in time,
Word made flesh for us,
walking our lonely streets,
tasting our bitter tears,
calling us to follow when
we would rather stay stuck.
As this new day, as this new year begins,
give us the grace to love more deeply,
the freedom to forgive more hopefully,
the courage to seek justice more fiercely,
and the tenacity to follow you
into the open-ended days awaiting us.

Breath filled with peace and
Fire blazing for those forgotten,
move over us as we prepare
for the challenges, the questions,
the disappointments, the wonders
which lie before us in God’s future.
As this new day, as this new year begins,
dispel our fears with winds of courage,
kindle hope in our apathetic lives,
challenge us to be more just,
and soften our cruel nature.

As you hold our past in your mercy.
as you are faithful at this moment,
as you fill our tomorrows with promise,
God in Community, Holy in One,
may our lives be a prayer
which is heard by all
in our words of kindness,
written on the world in justice,
and sung in love to you. Amen.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman