Before we begin,
let us center ourselves.
Take a deep breath in …
and let it out.
In this moment,
we hold our country
and one another
in love and light.
May Divine Presence
guide our hearts,
protect our spirits,
and remind us
of the love
that lives within us all.
May that love
find its way
through the simple ways
we care for one another.
And with a heart of service,
I share my gifts.
Service has been
a cornerstone in my recovery.
I discovered that
when my hands help another,
I become part
of something
bigger than myself.
There was a time
when I felt
I had nothing to give.
I had made the word ‘gift’
too small.
But service
taught me otherwise.
Look at your hands.
Seriously,
look at your hands.
They are open hands.
Hands that can give.
Hands that can receive.
Hands that can reach
for another.
Our gifts can be simple.
Listening.
A meal.
A laugh.
A prayer.
A kindness.
Sometimes the gift
is simply saying,
I am here.
And sometimes,
the gift is allowing another
to be there for us.
For service
is both giving
and receiving.
A sacred exchange
where the light within me
meets the light within you.
And somehow,
both of us
leave changed.
So today,
perhaps the question
is not,
What special gift do I have?
But simply,
What is mine to give,
right now?
Let us affirm :
My hands are open.
I give what is mine to give.
I receive what is mine to receive.
And through loving service,
the light within me
meets the light within you.
And somehow it is.