A Grateful Zombie

Tonight's post comes from my evening prayer journal.

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Hello, Beloved!

Photo by Trista Wynne

Thank You for this beautiful day!  What a blessing it is to inhale the coconut scent of the sunscreen slathered on my skin!  What a delight to dance in the sunshine and read in the courtyard!  How wonderful to receive the sunshine vitamin without the hassle of supplements.

I loved the way my body felt after the long hill-filled walk this afternoon through the city!  Thank You for the gift of mobility.  I certainly appreciate the valuable resources of a healthy body!


As I watch and listen to my parents and the neighbors I've befriended, I see the struggle that comes with age.  You know all the things they deal with, Lord; I ask for relief for them all.  I also become once again keenly aware of the tremendous blessings that I have.

You support me through family, friends and neighbors.  I'm grateful for the gift of relationships.  I pray for all who feel that they are lacking in this area.  Lord, please mend what is broken, straighten what is twisted, soften what is rough and fill what is empty.

You nourish me through food, provide me with clothing, shelter me in a sturdy apartment building and encourage me through physical intimacy.  I'm grateful for my setting, Lord.  For all the needs of my physical body, and even many of my desires, You, Beloved, provide good things.  I pray for all who struggle with matters of the body.  Lord, please feed the hungry, clothe the naked, free the shackled, strengthen the weak, lift the fallen, comfort the crippled, heal the wounded, cure the sick, open the closed, stimulate the flaccid, renew the weary and reconnect the separated.

You restore my soul.  You let me see Your face in all kinds of places.  I thank You for the height, breadth and depth of Your love.  I pray for all who struggle in matters of the spirit.  Open what is closed, Lord, remove the toxic, replace the light, restore sight and sense, enliven the imagination, enflame the passions, blow on the embers, stimulate the mind, encourage the disheartened, comfort the troubled, forgive the debts, straighten the aim, guide the wandering, seek out the lost, bind the broken-hearted, unite the splintered and resurrect the dead.

Precious Lord, these are all things that You accomplished during Your time on the earth.  They are tasks I feel called to join You in.  You said that Your disciples would do the things that You do, and even greater things.  Does this apply to Your Church today?  Does it apply to me?

I often wonder, Beloved, how a simple gathering of the living-dead has the ability to become a reflection of the True Resurrection; yet this is one of Your great promises.  Even where two or more are gathered in Your name, there You promise to be present.  It isn't our activities that reflect You, is it?  It's our very existence as part of Your worldwide Church spanning throughout the ages.

Zombies, at least traditionally, do not move very far or very fast.  As far as I can tell through my church history studies, the same can be said about us.  Yet somehow, even in our slow, somewhat jerky motions and the way we stumble along in our journey with the surrounding culture, Your light is reflected in our midst.

Photo by Trista Wynne

It is as though, through the gift of Your Holy Spirit, we each have received a small mirror or jewel on our foreheads.  The movement of one among us causes a small sparkling as we stand in Your light.  Before long, others are looking for the Source of the light, and because of their movement, other flickers of reflection begin to be seen.  Even those who have not yet received the jewel begin looking for the Light on account of these brief shimmers.  They begin looking for You.

On account of this simple reflection, Beloved, I close this entry the same way it opened: in thanksgiving.  Thank You, Lord, for the gift of Your Spirit.  Thank You for the gift of Your love.  Thank You for holding us all close and always having open arms.  Thank You for the gift of Your Church.  Thank You for working and reflecting in our midst.

Thank You.  Thank You.  Thank You.