It's Almost Spring: A Prayer of Thanskgiving and Confession... and Hope

I'm full of the flu. It feels like all the energy has been sucked out of me. I ache and my head is heavy with the amount of snot being produced in my sinuses (sorry about that). But when I look outside I see hope after a real cold polar blast where it sort of snowed here in Auckland there are signs of hope of new life and spring (Sniff Sniff) so a prayer of thanksgiving and confession and hope that spring is almost here. I originally wrote it while driving up to service at the Tutira north of Napier and being surprised by the amazing pink blooms of a fruit tree in the early morning sunlight as I drove round the bend from a cold dark gully.

It’s almost spring O God,

The winter is going and there is the promise of new life

Lambs in the paddock, buds and blossoms on the trees

There is warmth working its way into the cold nights again

Yes there is snow on the mountains and frost on the ground

But the sun now drives it away the coats can come off at midday 

Its almost spring O God

We marvel anew at the wonder of the things you have created

As they burst forth again from a seeming winter slumber

We rejoice as we see the way you provide for us

Harvest is way off but the promise is there

The grass is growing after draught, rain and the cold

It’s almost spring O God

For the newness of life around us we praise you

For flower and field, warmth even in the face of a southerly wind

For the new life within us we praise you

new life we receive from your son his death and resurrection

new life that thaws our hearts and empowers us to love

Its almost spring O God

We pray you would forgive us for the winter dark that lurks within us

Forgive us for the unkind thoughts, selfish acts and motives

Forgive us as in comfort we hibernating in the face of hunger and injustice

We’ve turned the cold shoulder to strangers and those in need

We have allowed our kindness to remain fallow land too long

Its almost spring O God

AS we have confessed our sin you have forgiven us

New life blooms in what was our wasteland

As you have pruned away the dead wood

Now send your spirit afresh to bare your fruit in our lives

To enable us to live and love to the glory of God