Holy and Sacred Source of All,

We are tired.

Teachers and classroom aides and principals are tired from a 10-month marathon, helping young minds prepare for what’s next….and the young minds being prepared are tired, too, of cramming so much knowledge into so seemingly small a space.

Clergy and lay leaders are tired from a similar 10-month marathon, punctuated by weekly sprints, helping souls prepare for the work of beloved community.

Parents are just tired.

Service workers, postal carriers, landscapers, HVAC workers, city councilors, doctors, psychologists, shop owners, web designers, lawyers, non-profit directors – they’re all tired too.

All who watch the news and listens to NPR and watches their Facebook and Twitter feeds are tired of all the arguing, all the violence, all the discrimination, all the murders, all the suicides.

God, we are tired.

Bless us with relaxation – that we can enjoy quiet, unplugged times sitting in the sun or curling up on the sofa.

Bless us with assurance – that we really can take some down time.

Bless us with peace – that for a little while, we can recharge our long depleted batteries.

Bless us with reminders – that we are still connected to this big, loving, beautiful, hurting world.

God, we are tired… but we are not giving up.

We just need rest. And then we’ll pick up our books and our trowels and our nametags and our brooms and our phones and our pens and our protest signs and our shovels – and start again.

Meanwhile, thank you for the gift of rest.

Amen.