## 90:1
%% 4
> Our Dwelling Place
>> Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations.

Occasion: Starting over after disaster

The ground is still a mess, Lord ---
debris everywhere,
plastic bins at the ready.

I keep looking at what remains,
remembering what was.
Even the smallest things can undo me.
I am tired before I even begin,
and I do not know how to start
when starting means admitting how much is gone.

Meet me in the work of this day.
Show me what to pick up first.

I can freeze up,
seeing all of it at once,
or waste my strength trying to save what is already gone.
The ruin makes every choice feel impossible.

Help me accept that some things cannot be restored.
Help me grieve what is gone
without letting grief take everything that survived.
When anger rises, stay with me.
When weariness settles into my bones,
give me grace enough for one more needful thing.

Keep my hands to the next small task,
and send people who will carry boxes,
bring water,
stand in the wreckage with me
without trying to say what cannot be said.

You were our dwelling place before this ruin.
You are our dwelling place here in the ruin.
You will be our dwelling place when we start again.

Until then, hold me here,
among what remains,
and help me begin.

Amen.