On Our Wall (Part 2)

Shortly after getting married, Hil and I decided to start going back to Church.  The weekly bulletins occasionally carried a flyer with a message for the parish.  Over time, we picked up two which really touched us and we decided to frame them and keep them on our bedroom wall.  They’ve followed us around the world and been hanging there ever since (over 30 years now).
Yesterday, I posted the first.  Here is the second…
A Seventeenth Century Nun’s Prayer
Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.
Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody;  helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains.  They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other’s pains, but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet;  I do not want to be a saint – some of them are so hard to live with – but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the Devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people.
And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen
—    Anonymous
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On This Day In:
2021	It Still Isn’t
	Swinging And Shaking
2020	One Is Not Plural
	On And On…
2019	I Think I’ve Just Been Argoted
2018	Good-Bye AG Jeff Sessions
2017	On Our Wall (Part 2)
2016	I Beg The Question
2015	By Their Fruit
2014	Proven Worth
2013	From Missouri
2012	Recipe To Write: Start With One Aching Urge
2011	Ip And Rib
	Real Things
2010	Final Competition

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