## 5:3
%% 4
> In the Morning I Will Watch
>> LORD, in the morning you will hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.

Occasion: Waking up worried

I woke too abruptly, Lord ---
heart already pounding,
sheets twisted,
the dark not fully gone,
and the old fear waiting for me
at the edge of the bed.

I have not even sat up,
and already my mind is racing ahead,
trying to prepare for every possible challenge.
I do not know what this day will bring,
but my body is bracing itself
as if the worst has already arrived.

Hear me now
before I build a whole day out of dread.

Help me name what is real
and leave the rest at bay.
The imagined trouble feels real enough
to tighten my chest,
and if I feed it all morning,
by breakfast I will be bowed under
too many things that have not even happened,
and may never.

Be near in this room.
To this body.
In this morning.
I am not asking for certainty about the whole day.
Give me grace enough to begin:
one calm breath,
one honest prayer,
one next step.

Fear sits at the edge of the bed.
Lord, You sit closer.

Amen.