Lord,
it’s Easter Sunday today,
a day to celebrate
but as I sit here at morning prayer
listening to the birdsong
all I can think of
is that I’ve wasted this Lent …
again!

In Lent you asked me
if I would like the opportunity
to draw closer to you
and I said, “Yes!”
but then, using a myriad of excuses,
I did very little.
This morning
I feel like the unhelpful son
from the Parable of the Two Sons
who promised his father
that he would go off and work in the vineyard …
but then didn’t bother to go.

And yet, Lord,
you reached out to me
so many times during Lent
in those sacred moments
when you filled my heart
with a sense of awe and wonder
or simply laid your hand on my shoulder
to reassure me.

Lord,
you forgave your closest friends
who fled in fear
in your hour of need –
can you forgive me
for my weakness?

Lord,
on this Easter morning
I don’t ask for the joy of the Resurrection –
instead I ask for your forgiveness
and for the chance
to walk with you again
today.

© Claire Murray, 21st April 2019

Matthew 21:28-32