WRITING PROMPT  In Thoughts In Solitude, Thomas Merton suggests that learning to live in silence enables us to live at peace with the contradictions that lie within us. The contradictions remain, but they cease to create anxiety for us if we can know and trust God’s presence.

Who hasn’t experienced the confusion Merton admits in this frank, open plea to God, wondering if he is on the right path? Write your own prayer about a particular contradiction, concern, or confusing aspect in your life’s direction. Spill out any and all of the details, but end with your own surrender to God’s will and your statement of trust that the Creator will never abandon you.

“I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”–Thomas Merton