A Prayer to the God of my Ordinary Summer Day

Because ordinary days are always extraordinary in Him.

The wind blows hot, the sun beams strong—God, I inhale your goodness on this ordinary summer day.

I exhale into your rest, as the beads of sweat start to form when the garden weeds are pulled—you are near. 

There are days and seasons that my heart feels as dry as the browned grass I see out my window.

But today, 

on this ordinary summer day, 

where there is nothing that seems extraordinary— 

the squirrels which chase the birds away from the seed,

the wildflowers swaying in the small breeze,

where s’mores are shared around a campfire,

where berry stained hands eat their pickings, 

and sticky necks strain to see the first of the stars coming out in the late evening—

there is always evidence of your glory.

Oh God of the ordinary, 

open my eyes to the revealing of your holy.

There are spaces where the holy peaks through—shining its light as the afternoon sun. 

You are here—

in the wet eyelashes of a child after hours in the pool, 

in the morning songs of the birds rising before the sun, 

in the popsicle wrappers and tongues stained the colors of the rainbow, 

in a summer shower that brings a welcomed quench of thirst to a dry garden—you are in all.

We welcome you on this ordinary day.

We invite you into the mundane rhythms of our life. 

May we notice your glory in all. 

May we see the bearers of your light through your eyes. 

May we receive your love, as a welcomed embrace of the cool morning glow. 

We hold the joy, laughter, tantrums, grief, singing on road trips, and long work meetings—on these summer days. 

As we smile on those we love, may we remember that you are smiling on us—as children deeply loved. 

May we hear the whispers of your love in the joyous celebrations, the fear-filled conversations, the spontaneous trips, and the missing of those that are not here. 

Oh God of this ordinary summer day—remind us that we are never ordinary in you. 

We are extraordinary in your eyes. 

These summer days will always hold glimpses of holy—because of you. 

Amen.