This morning, I read about Curtice and her husband’s celebration when one of their sons was born. After he was born, they read a prayer over him from a book called “Yours is the Day, Lord, Yours Is the Night”. It is a stunningly beautiful and powerful prayer.

Grant, O God, your protection:
and in your protection, strength;
and in strength, understanding;
and in understanding, knowledge;
and in knowledge, the knowledge of justice;
and in the knowledge of justice, the love of it;
and in that love, the love of existence;
and in the love of all existence, the love of God,
God and all goodness.
Amen.

Sometimes the word “overwhelming” has a negative connotation but there are other times where it is a perfect word to describe something wonderful. God’s overwhelming grace, a spouse’s overwhelming love, and so forth. This prayer today is an overwhelming (in a good way) prayer. It just captures how all these pieces build on one another, ultimately being surrounded by the fullness of God.

While this picture came from a walk today where we had some rather significant flooding (this bench was on the shoreline of a local lake), it feels like it fits with this prayer that ultimately it is all about being surrounded by the overwhelmingness of God.