beauty and tragedy

Opening Prayer: There is a dying, O Lord, that is good and beautiful, and one that is sad and tragic.  Help me to know the difference between the two.

Scripture: Colossians 3:5-14

Journal: What needs to die within you, so that something beautiful may be born?  And what beautiful thing within you needs to be nurtured so that it will not die from neglect?

Reflection: “The tragedy of life is not in the fact of death, but in what dies inside us while we live.” ~Norman Cousins

     beauty and tragedy

there is a dying

that is good and beautiful

that brings God joy and delight

it makes good space within us

for something new to be born

and there is a dying

that is sad and tragic

that breaks God’s heart

when we fail to pay attention

to what is good and beautiful within

and it dies from neglect

Prayer

Closing Prayer: O Lord, help me to pay careful attention to the things that are good and beautiful within me, so that they do not shrivel up and die out of inattention and neglect.  Amen.