## 6:2
%% 4
> Have Mercy on Me, LORD
>> Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint. LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

Occasion: Slow recovery from illness

The worst is past, God,
but I am not well yet ---
the walk to the door still costs me,
food still tastes strange,
my strength comes back by droplets.

I'm well enough to expect more of myself,
but still weak enough to be disappointed.
Some days I cannot tell
whether I am recovering
or simply learning how tired I am.

Keep me from rushing the healing.
Teach me to receive a slow answer
without calling it no answer.

I want to act as if I am whole,
and then I pay for it by evening.
I want one strong morning
to mean the illness is done.
It is hard to accept
that feeling better is not the same as being well.

Give me patience for small gains ---
a little more sleep,
a little less pain,
a little more strength.
And when even those gains seem too small,
help me not to measure every hour
or lose heart over one difficult day.

Let those little things be healing,
received without shame
for how far I still need to go.

Amen.