Prayer of St Francis

Prayer of St Francis of Assisi:

"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."

I've been a little bit of a slump the past few days...maybe some kind of post Thanksgiving/ pre Christmas thing...I don't know. But I was feeling very un-loved...hmmm...definitely lots of inner-healing stuff that obviously still needs to happen there...but anyway... I prayed over it and the Lord pretty much reminded me of the above prayer. God's way is different then our way...the spiritual world is topsy turvey...we get by giving, we become first by being last and on and on. So the point being...we get love by GIVING love! I've been very neglectful of my friends and extended family. I've been so self focused (in a negative way)for the past few years (ok...maybe most of my life). This was such an AHA moment, especially as I prepare for Christmas.

The thing is that I'm still very lacking in this area...I honestly and trully don't even know how to reach out to others. My prayer will be that the Lord show me step by step what He would have me do.