Lord, Your artistry is boundless, You who shaped the high desert and the mountains, who painted the sky in turquoise and gold, who set the Rio Grande to run through the heart of this land—We give thanks for New Mexico.
For the ancient peoples who have walked these mesas for centuries, for timeworn pueblos and quiet missions, and for every culture that has found a home beneath its wide sky. Bless the land itself, the Sangre de Cristo peaks that hold the morning light, the white sands that shift like fine cloth, the canyons that keep cool silence, the high plains that stretch toward eternity.
Grant wisdom to those who care for it in a time of drought and fire, send rain upon the dry ground. Guard the rivers and the wells. Bless the people. Give strength to the families who work the land and the towns. Grant healing to those who carry old wounds of history and loss. Bring justice where it is needed, and peace where division has taken root. Give courage to those who teach the young, and provision to households pressed by want. Make homes safe, and turn hearts from violence.
Let the beauty of this place soften hard hearts and open eyes to one another’s dignity. Watch over the children who grow up under this sky. Give them roots deep enough to hold them and wings strong enough to carry them wherever they are called.
And when the wind moves across the sage and the sand, let it carry a quiet reminder that this land is a gift from You. Keep this Land of Enchantment under Your holy protection, and let its people walk in liberty, peace, and hope. Amen.
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. Isaiah 35:1 NKJV
“It is more beautiful to trust in God. The beautiful in this world is all from his hand, declaring the perfection of taste; he is the author of all form; he clothes the lily, he colours the rose, he distils the dewdrop, he makes the music of nature; in a word, he organized us for this life, and imposed its conditions; and they are such guaranty to me that, trustful as a little child, I leave to him the organization of my Soul, and every arrangement for the life after death. I know he loves me.” — Lew Wallace Territorial Governor of New Mexico and Author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880)
Hold Fast, Spread the Word and God Save the Republic.
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