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Guide us waking and Guard us sleeping. . .
my eyes have seen the Savior

Watercolor and Pencil, July 20, 2005
14.5" x 11"

 
     
 

Kristy K. Smith

Out of all the offices, Compline is the one that I love. The prayers are such a beautiful offering of thanksgiving. They are an offering of the day and of our life to God for God's glory. The prayers remind me that God was there with me through it all, and in the events and sights of the day were glimpses of salvation. Like a blanket of Love, the prayers of Compline surround us at the end of the day and hold us fast through the night.

At a diocesan retreat early in July, I walked outside after Compline and was greeted with the sky in its dusk blues, and there was Compline
echoing all around me in the colors of the sky: "Grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end. . . Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping. . . Lord, you now have set your servant free, to go in peace as you have promised in peace. . . these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see. . . a Light to enlighten all nations and
the glory of your people. . . hide us under the shadow of your wing. . . keep watch this night with those who work or watch or weep. . ."

 


Kristy K. Smith is an Episcopal priest in Des Moines, Iowa. She received a BFA from the University of Iowa and a Masters of Divinity from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. She also has completed the Spiritual Director's training at Shalem Institute in Bethesda, MD. Kristy does both individual and group spiritual direction, and leads retreats/quiet days focusing on spiritual life and on art as a language of the soul. Kristy considers color, line, shape and images her first language, the language of her soul. She is currently working on a book of prayer drawings, which will offer new insights into the Bible stories for Year A from the lectionary. She and her husband Dave have two grown children.

Kristy K. Smith
Email: kristyks@juno.com

Parish: St. Andrew's Episcopal Church - Des Moines, Iowa

 
     
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©2005 The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts