Yesterday I offered you 7 options of things to do to be helpful in August. They were simple things, designed to be doable in a short time.

I heard from several of you about ways that you followed up. For example, a bunch of you watched Brian’s video about waiting and some of you even commented. (On his behalf, thank you).

The challenge for us all is to move from being helpful on one day to learning to be helpful. Doing something once, and then again, and then again. For example, three weeks ago I talked about choosing to learn something. I mentioned a book I was reading. Though I picked it up again yesterday morning, my reading has been very occasional. I could get upset. Or I could celebrate that I’m slowly making progress.

When I started writing, I was going to offer you a bunch of things to choose to learn in September.

But you, like me, already know all the things to choose from. The things you want to do that will be helpful. The things we want to finish. The sense of frustration you want to abandon.

So instead of offering you more options, I want to offer you this prayer:

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God.

You know my friends, inside and out.

And you are pretty much in love with them.

And you know that not all of them believe that all the time.

Most of us don’t really believe you love us most of the time.

We think you are waiting for us to pick the right three things to do in September to impress you. And if we pick wrong, you’ll be mad.

As we start this month with all the uncertainty it holds, let us know you know us. And that we are enough.

Amen.

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(A year ago yesterday, my friend Kent died. At his ordination, I preached about enough. So you can read that, too.)