PSALMS

20 - Facing Life Changes

Soon after I began writing psalms, I spent many hours listening to a friend who was going through a difficult divorce. I wrote something I hoped would give her courage, and she told me she carried it with her every time she had to go to court. Several months ago, when I was speaking to a synagogue’s Feminist Forum, another woman, a stranger to me, greeted me before the reading. She showed me the same psalm, bookmarked by the "Serenity Prayer." She shared that she was a recovering alcoholic and that this psalm, like the Serenity Prayer, was part of her daily affirmations. I was also delighted when the editors of the new Siddur Sim Shalom, the Conservative movement’s prayerbook, decided to include this psalm in their additional readings.

Twenty

Facing Life Changes

Help me, O God, to find still moments,
Quiet spaces within to refresh my soul;
Calm my questions, my inner debates,
And let me meditate on Your goodness.

Help me, O God, to nurture my courage, Recalling moments of strength,
Remembering days of fortitude,
The certainty of Your regard.

Help me, O God, to grasp changed visions,
Filmy curtains to blur my unhappiness
And wrap my tears with radiance,
Your hand upon my face.

Help me, O God, to turn to the light,
Warmed face, fingers outstretched,
Alive, alive in Your sight.