Prayer reflecting on the mudslide in Oso, Washington

Dear God:

When the hills crumble...
When the mountains fall...
When the rivers rise...
When all is swept away...
When people are swept away...

When our words, even, are swept away...

You are with us in the silence between the silences and
you know

that will not
always
feel

like
enough.

And yet,

You remain.
(...)

May we make a space for you as
we mourn and
we rage and
we question and
we reject and
we HOPE and
WE PLAN and
WE REBUILD AND
WE FIND OUR HOME AGAIN

on this ground that shifts
on this earth that spins
among those stars that are always, always moving...
Unsteady, frightening

and beautiful.

So today
help us know
- among all that has been lost -
you remain.

So today,
We pray for those lives that were lost.
(...)

We pray for those lives forever altered.
(...)

We pray for those that came to help.
(...)

We pray for guidance as we seek ways to help.
(...)

Amen.