麻豆约拍

Good Morning.

I spent much of this past summer back in Toronto, Canada, the city where I grew up. On a particularly hot afternoon, I took my five-year old son on a tour of some of the schools I鈥檇 attended when I was young. The outing, though, was really for me. I was suffering from a strong spell of nostalgia and the humid summer day had brought back memories of a long-forgotten adventure.

The middle school I attended was a short walk from the shores of the majestic Lake Ontario. On a hot, sunny day, the lake鈥檚 cool waters had 鈥� and still have 鈥� a strong pull.

There was a narrow dirt path at the back of the school that led right down to the shore of the lake. My friends and I would plot ways to sneak away to the lake during our lunch hour. The lunch ladies would supervise the path vigilantly. But occasionally, we鈥檇 create a diversion and make a run for it. What I remember most about racing down that trail was the feeling that the path ahead was full of promise and possibility.

Age and experience diminish the sense of potential I felt when I was young. Yet the Quran reminds us that it is through God鈥檚 grace and expansive generosity that we continuously find possibility. 鈥淲hatever mercy God opens for people,鈥� we are advised, 鈥渘othing can withhold it.鈥� God is after all also called The Opener.

O God 鈥� the opener of all hearts and paths鈥� we ask you to expand our inner vision to the see the continuous possibilities of the gift of life. We ask you to grant us your mercy, love and guidance, so that we may follow the path of compassion, healing and service to all. All roads lead back to you O Lord. We ask that in our travels to You, that we may find peace through You.

Ameen.