A Prayer for Beginning Again

Starting over can feel like proof that you failed the first time. It isn't.


God,

I'm starting again.

Not for the first time.
Not even for the second.
And there's a shame in that
I don't know what to do with.

Part of me wants to begin quietly
so no one notices
in case this attempt ends
the way the others did.

I keep score of my own restarts.
I assume You do too.

If I've spent my second chances,
tell me that isn't how this works.
If beginning again is all I have,
let it be enough of an offering.

Take the version of me that quit.
Take the reasons — the good ones and the excuses.
I'm not going to defend them today.

Give me the smaller thing:
not a transformation,
not a promise I can't keep,
just the next honest step,
and the willingness to take it.

Let me begin without a speech.
Let me begin without certainty that it will hold.
Let me begin because beginning is what's in front of me.

Meet me at the start line
as many times as it takes.

Amen.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases... they are new every morning."
— Lamentations 3:22–23


You're welcome to sit with this as long as you need.