My Feet Have Trod
Emma Gray Pitt of Bayonne, NJ, USA
The temple shall be dedicated to the pursuit of peace. It shall be for reconciliation and for healing of the spirit. It shall also be for a strengthening of faith and preparation for witness. By its ministries an attitude of wholeness of body, mind, and spirit as a desirable end toward which to strive will be fostered. It shall be the means for providing leadership education for priesthood and member. And it shall be a place in which the essential meaning of the Restoration as healing and redeeming agent is given new life and understanding, inspired by the life and witness of the Redeemer of the world. -Doctrine and Covenants 156:5
My feet have trod
Many paths near and far:
Dirt roads,
Cobblestones,
Concrete.
The paths are so well-worn,
I’m not even sure
Who took the first step.
(Though I’ve never stopped
To think about it.)
I’m scrambling to keep pace.
Each time my foot hits the ground,
The tiniest puff of dust is
Displaced around my soles.
What am I doing here?
Now I wonder
Why I’ve never wondered
What used to grow
Beneath my feet trodding fast,
my head lifted high,
Eyes on the next prize?
Was it a forest?
Maybe there were wildflowers,
Flourishing,
Full of perennial purpose.
Were there homes,
Warm dens of respite and security?
What have we forgotten?
Is this a dream?
I dig my stiff fingers into
Cold, thawing soil.
Frantically searching
For something
Sacred.
Prayer Phrase
“Led by the Holy Spirit, we work with God and others to restore peace (shalom) to creation” (https://www.cofchrist.org/enduring-principles).
Spiritual Practice
Embodying God’s Shalom
Find a way to express and embody God’s shalom. Begin by prayerfully listening to your longing for peace and wholeness. Become silent and imagine you can hear the groaning of the Earth’s people, nations, and creatures. Prayerfully open yourself to God’s yearning for peace and the divine vision of shalom.
What images, feelings, and words come to you? What prayer for peace comes to you from your time of listening? Speak or write this prayer. What act of justice, kindness, healing, or peacemaking does God invite you to consider this day?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
