Longer Days
Father in Heaven,
Thank You for longer days;
When light arrives early, shines brightly,
And after amber sunsets, slowly leaves late.
May our mornings,
Without the rush of moving children to school,
And fewer cars on our commute,
Reset our rhythms for entering our days with gratitude.
May our middays,
When the warmth of the air incites children to play
And invites adults to enjoy lunch in the shade,
Revive our relationships with each other.
May our evenings,
With hours of sunlight after the office,
And backyard games beyond children’s bedtimes,
Reestablish unforced rhythms of rest and play.
We ask for Your protection,
For our neighbors who cannot cool their homes,
Those whose work is outdoor labor,
And children who miss school as a peaceful place.
We ask for Your Presence,
For those that this season is punctuated by sorrow,
Families who are fractured, friends who are far away,
And all for whom summer is marked by what has been lost.
We ask for Your patience,
For when the length of the day exhausts us,
When the routines we rely on are disrupted,
And the uncertainty of the season unsettles us.
May these longer days,
When light is long and darkness brief,
Renew our hope for Your Light
To illuminate our life.
