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A prayer by Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jewish woman who wrote it at the height of the Nazi persecution of the Jews in Holland:
Dear God, these are anxious times. Tonight, for the first time, I lay in the dark with burning eyes as scene after scene of human suffering passed before me.
I shall promise you one thing, God, just one very small thing; I shall never burden my today with cares about my tomorrow. Each day is sufficient unto itself. I shall try to help you, God, to stop my strength ebbing away.....
Don't let me waste even one atom of my strength on petty material cares. Let me use and spend every minute and turn this into a fruitful day, one stone more in the foundations on which to build our so uncertain future.
In the House of the Lord
Henri Nouwen
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