In the Holy Quiet of this Hour

Lord's Chapel, Watercolor by Colleen Conrad

In the midst of the whirling day, in the hectic rush to be doing,

In the frantic pace of life, pause here for a moment.

Catch your breath, relax your body.

Loosen your grip on life.

Consider that our lives are always unfinished business.

Imagine that the picture of our being is never complete.

Allow your life to be a work in progress.

Do not hurry to mold the masterpiece;

Do not rush to finish the picture;

Do not be impatient to complete the drawing.

From beckoning birth to dawning death, we are in process,

And always there is more to be done.

Do not let the incompleteness weigh on your spirit.

Do not despair that imperfection marks your every day.

Do not fear that we are still in the making.

Let us instead be grateful that the world is still to be created.

Let us give thanks that we can be more than we are.

Let us celebrate the power of the incomplete,

For life is always unfinished business.

Richard Gilbert

From the Skinner House Meditation Manual "In the Holy Quiet of this Hour"