Praying with Big Magic: Persistence
By Rev. Debra McKnight

Persistent and Ever-Present Creator
You never give up,
Bidding us deeper and nudging us to lower our nets and try again …just one more time.

But, persistence is hard and why should we,
with so many stairs and ladders and miles to go.
Is it something we get from Succeessories or Nike?
Is it the quote on the office posters with mountains to climb and long winding roads?
Do we persist because the meme reminds us to never give up
or is it the coffee?

This is exhausting
do we always have to be the frog fighting from the pelican’s bill?

Is persistence only measured by SMART Goals or standardized tests?
Does it matter if the boss wants it done fast or corporate demands?
Does it mean you never rest?
If the path was truly ours would it feel like a grind?

Are we Atlas holding up the heavens?
Are we sentenced to a life-time of rolling our stone?
Or will we find the call that sings from deep within,
the creative force we love enough to take the next step
even when the road is an uphill climb.

Ever-present Divine, grant us, in sensitivity and sincerity
the courage to brith new possibilities,
with a Spirit of delight sharing our burdens
and a beloved company that walks by our side.

Persistent and Present Creator,
grant us the courage to place our nets in the deep,
to try one more time,
to be coachable and disciplined when the calling is right.

Ever-Present God, free us from the chains of perfection
and the fears that make a home in our head,
certain we aren’t ready or remotely qualified.

Loving God, grant us the discipline for the efforts that mean the most
the dreams inspired by Love’s light,
the work that makes our hearts strangely warm
and the balance that makes life whole.

May we persist not for glory or power or riches or fame
but for for Heaven’s Sake.

May it be so.
Amen.