Prayer for The Next 25 Years

Today, I turn 25. For some reason, it is a big deal to me. I know that in the grand scheme of themes, I am still a baby, but to me it seems like an end of an era. 25 just seems like a big turning point and big change does seem to be on the horizon of life. It makes me introspective and frankly a little melancholy as I ponder the dreams that went awry and those that never got off the ground. Makes me think of hurts and tears, broken hearts and disappointments.

But then, it also reminds me of the dreams that are coming true right now, some that I would never have conceived of a short time ago. It reminds me of laughter and memories, pictures and friends, adventures and lessons learned. It makes me think of the million little things that make up a person's life... the friends that come and go but leave a lasting impact, vacations and road trips, nights spent studying, impromptu photo sessions in college, grocery shopping, work and conferences, and it makes me smile.

 At times, I yearn for those past moments, if just to catch a glimpse of the person I was then, to remember what it felt like to be me at 12, 16, and 21. To remember those moments in life that molded me into who I am today. But life can't be spent looking back. It can be looking forward, but certainly it must be lived in the present. So today, as I turn 25, I embrace the next 25 years of my life and the great adventures that are sure to come.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.