In the province where I live,
We have been in a health emergency for over five years.
This emergency was declared in response to the dramatic rise in drug toxicity deaths.
The potency and makeup of the drug supply had become unpredictable,
And suddenly the death toll climbed and climbed.
I'm not an anxious or fearful person,
Generally speaking,
And yet this crisis has made me incredibly worried for my young children.
I often feel powerless,
Especially when I hear from other parents whose children have died from the grip of this crisis.
In those times,
I pray.
Maybe you will join me.
I'm Christian,
So I hope this mindset and language work for you.
Dear God,
One we understand as the source of all life and all love.
One whose invitation brought the creation of all that is.
It is your breath that brought life to animals and us.
Your will of love always brings new life,
And so we thank you.
We thank you for those moments when we experience firsthand your promise of new life.
A newborn baby.
A plant sprouting from the soil.
An egg hatching.
Young wildlife nibbling at fresh growth on trees.
Fish spawning.
You declared all of this to be good,
God,
And so it is.
And along with your promise of new life comes the inevitability of death.
Each form of life does its utmost to delay that moment.
A parent cares for a child.
We care for ourselves.
We nurture,
We protect,
And we encourage.
And yet for some,
Before death comes prolonged pain.
Pain of grief.
Pain of injury.
Pain of trauma.
Pain of despair.
We know you are present in these times of pain,
But sometimes we can't feel you.
We feel alone.
For too many,
The pain becomes unbearable.
God would you hold that pain even for a moment.
We pray for those currently tending to their pain in harmful ways.
Would you make your presence known to them?
Remind them they are loved?
We pray for those who flirt with danger for the sake of feeling their own aliveness.
Would you grant them the clarity of their own boundaries as they struggle to make meaning of this world and their lives?
Would you make your presence known to them?
We pray for those who have died.
We give thanks for the lives they lived and for the end of pain.
And yet our hearts break when we consider the opportunities missed.
The unmet potential that awaited them.
High school graduation.
Starting a family.
Witnessing children grow.
Attending a garden.
Building something.
Creating beauty.
Feeling the company of friends they hadn't yet met.
Feeling the next caress of a loved one.
These are the marks of an abundant life and yet too many only experienced too few of them.
We pray for those walking with wounds on their hearts.
The parents whose child won't be sleeping in their bed again.
The grandparents deeply missing that special laugh.
Aunts,
Uncles,
Cousins.
We pray for the siblings feeling like a part of their own body is now absent.
Would all these be free of their guilt or shame?
Would they be free of their constant wondering what if?
Would they be free of whatever holds them back from the fullness of grief?
Would you make your presence known to them?
God we pray for an end to this crisis.
We pray for political will,
For scientific and medical clarity,
For a profound sense of purpose and belonging.
We ask for courage and perseverance.
Would you give us what we need to work at the multifaceted solutions until there are no more lives lost?
God we hold on to a vision of heaven on earth where love and new life flourish.
Our all experience abundant living full of hope.
We ask your blessing on all our relations.
We ask that all of our lives might flourish reflecting your image of peace.
Be with us throughout our journeys through all of life's trials and joys.
Remind us when we need it especially that new life overcomes every death,
Every injustice.
We pray all of this in the name of the one who lived,
Taught love,
Healed,
Died,
And lives again.
Amen.
