Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, your Son, Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
I would often look out the window of my house and see Bill walking by. He was the retired administrator of a local Christian school. He shuffled along, white cane in his hand. Bill was nearly blind; he had had a stoke a while before this scene took place which has altered his gait and sense of balance and accelerated his Alzheimer’s condition. He moved more and more slowly as the years went by. He passed away about a year ago. I miss talking to him on those walks, he was a friend.
The prayer speaks of us as frail and unable to stand upright. I look at Bill and am grateful for my glasses which still let me see, my body which has not betrayed me as his did, and the ability to know how to find my house after a walk. But spiritually speaking am I far more like Bill than I might like to admit? I quickly fall prey to temptation, envious of another’s success or holding some petty grudge. Is my spiritual stride really so firm and my eyesight truly so clear?
Bill never walked alone. Toward the end of his life his wife was always at his side. She is of an age when retirement should have meant travel, a social group, and, knowing her, volunteering at some worthy cause. She is a bright and vivacious woman. But she walked attentively by her husband. She clearly loved him and would not wanted to have been anywhere else. I am sure there are days when she was tired. I saw her children sometimes taking Bill for his walks in his last months. She needed a break, and they seemed to be stepping up for her, but then, the next day we would see her and Bill again.
Christ your Lord never grows weary of walking at your side. We pass through dangers which often we cannot see or do not know, but He sees and knows them all. He is too a human being, just like you. He has His eye on them and has kept you from pitfalls and perils which mercifully you will never know.