opening prayer–southwest senses and seasons

Creator God, we thank you for the wide sky and the warm sun, for the bottomless lakes and the flowing rivers, for the massive mesas and the never-resting winds, for trees and for soil underfoot. We thank you for our senses, which let us hear wind blowing through trees, and see the summer clouds cast moving shadows on the rolling hills, and taste the roasted chiles in autumn, and revel in the cold touch of the snow, and smell the breath of the spring after the rain. May you open the eyes of our hearts to this beauty – and keep us from being blind to your glory burning in even the lowly cholla, reminding us of your love for all things and all people, no matter how great or small. As you have made our senses come alive, let us be attuned to your presence in worship today! Amen.