Marjorie Holmes (Sep 1910 - Mar 2002) |American
from the Book "Hold Me Up a Little Longer, Lord | © 1977 Doubleday & Co. Inc
Lord, don't let me be afraid to say yes to new experiences – new places to go, new people to meet, new things to learn. Don't let me be a coward about trying new things – friends or foods, books or music, inventions or ideas.
Sure, it's safer and less trouble just to chug along in the same old rut, but that leads to stagnation and old age. The young are usually willing to try things. You didn't design us to stay young forever, of course, but if I'd created a world so gloriously full of creatures, places and adventures, I'd be sad to see any of my children refusing to discover its surprises until they had to.
Lord, thank You for helping me overcome sheer laziness and my dreads:
: I'm always half-eager to go, but half-miserable because of the problems any trip presents. How much easier it is not to have to shop, pack cope with tickets and arrangements. Yet how grateful I am for having made the effort. My life's store of friendships, knowledge and memories is enriched because of every trip I've taken.
: of learning to swim and dive and skate, of learning to ski and ride and play tennis. Voices whimper and warn, especially as we get older: "The water's cold", or "You might get hurt",or "Stay here where it's warm and cozy". Lord, don't let me give up the things I already can do, or give in to the voices that would stop me from attempting new ones. The back porch may be more secure, but the fun is in jumping the fences.
: Even the friends now so dear to me were once sometimes frightening strangers. Yet You led me to them, Lord, often against my own resistance. And my life would be empty without them.
G-d, don't ever take away my courage to try things. Guard me from recklessness and folly, from foolishly sampling something just because it's "in" when I know it's wrong. Yet keep alive my enthusiasm my curiosity and my daring. Let me always be willing to say yes to new experiences