Words of Light and Hope from Tony Hawes

Grandad’s Prayers of the Earth – Epilogue
My Grandad and I went for many walks after that one.
I often listened for the prayers of the earth, but was
never sure that I heard them……
Then, one day, my Grandad was gone……
And no matter how hard I prayed, he didn’t come back.
He couldn’t come back. I prayed and prayed, until I
couldn’t pray any more. And so I didn’t, for a long time.
And the world seemed dark and lonely, without
my Grandad……
Until one day I went for a walk.
I found a big rock under some tall trees, and I sat down.
Overhead, the branches swayed, and a breeze whispered
in the leaves. I heard a stream flowing nearby, and a robin
singing from a honeysuckle bush.
I heard something else too – something in the sounds
of the breezes and the birds, and the water.
I heard prayers……the earth was praying, just as my
Grandad had said……
So I joined in. “Thank you, Lord God,” I prayed.
“For tall trees and sweet flowers. For still rocks and
singing birds. Thank you for sending your Son to live and
die for us. And thank you especially for my Grandad.”
And as I prayed, something changed, and my Grandad
seemed somehow very near.
And for the first time in a long while, the world seemed
just right…… Douglas Wood

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy
servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks
for all thy goodness and loving kindness to us and to all men.
We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the
blessings of this life; but above all for thine inestimable
love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies,
that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we
shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives;
by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before
thee in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the
Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end.
Amen. Book of Common Prayer

Illustration by PJ Lynch from “Grandad’s Prayers of the Earth” by Douglas Wood

June 10, 2023