Today is Lent 4C and the story of “The Prodigal Son” which is actually about a father and his two sons (Luke 15:11-32). I wrote this as a prayer of confession for my own congregation … trying to put into words how this story speaks to me, and how it makes me want to speak to God …

We run away from home
NNNNNNNNfor so many reasons
We long for love and connection, but
NNNNrefuse to ask for or accept it
NNNNNNNNfor so many reasons
We righteously rage as we compare wounds, but
NNNNchoose the isolation of resentment
NNNNover the vulnerability of sadness
NNNNNNNNfor so many reasons
Yes, we run away from You
NNNNNNNNfor so many reasons
Bring us to our senses, to ourselves.
See us, even when we are still far off.
Come running to us anyway, O God, we pray.
~Susan Gascho-Cooke

Note:
The lines about resentment and sadness were inspired by The Spirituality of Imperfection by Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham.