A Lenten Plea for Peace

Date: March 4, 2022

By Peggy Eastman, Poet-in-Residence

Lord, You promised You would
grant us Your peace, not as the world
gives. We, Your restless creatures,
need something more than grim acceptance
of earthly trials. We need something more
than gritty endurance to help us
through loss, despair and catastrophe.
We need Your peace, Lord.
Please, Lord, grant us Your peace
so we may become channels of mercy,
not stricken survivors buffeted
by every gale of misfortune that
roars our way. Rest in us, flow through
us, consume ever more of our being.
We need Your peace, Lord.
Replace our divisions with unity,
our desperation with serenity;
our rage with kindness;
our desire for vengeance with forgiveness;
our thirst for power with humility;
our selfishness with self-giving;
our judgmentalism with tolerance;
our suspicion with openness;
our greed with generosity;
our restlessness with fulfillment;
our indifference with caring;
our waywardness with fidelity;
our woundedness with healing;
our suffering with redemption;
our fear with faith.
Please, Lord, transform us with
the vastness of Your love.
We need the peace only You
can grant.