August The Seventeenth

O FATHER, this day may bring some hard task to our life, or some hard trial to our love. We may grow weary, or sad, or hopeless in our lot. But, Father, our whole life until now has been one great proof of Thy care. Bread has come for our body, thoughts to our mind, love to our heart, and all from Thee. So help us, we implore Thee, while we still stand on this side of all that the day may bring, to resolve that we will trust Thee this day to shine into any gloom of the mind, to stand by us in any trial of our love, and to give us rest in Thy good time as we need. May this day be full of a power that shall bring us near to Thee, and make us more like Thee; and, O God, may we so trust Thee this day, that, when the day is done, our trust shall be firmer than ever. Then, when our lat day comes, and our work is dine, may we trust Thee in death and forever, in the spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord - Amen.

-- ROBERT COLLYER

Lancashire cotton mill worker, mother with her child, on her way to food shopping queue after a hard day's work as they pass "EXTRA EFFORT NOW MEANS BETTER LIVING SOONER" billboard. Location: Lancashire, United Kingdom, taken Apriil 1947 by photographer Nat Farbman. Life magazine archive.

August The Sixteenth

O THOU most holy and ever-loving God, we thank Thee once more for the quiet rest of the night that has gone by, for the new promise that has come with this fresh morning, and for the hope of this day. While we have slept, the world in which we live has swept on in its awful space, great fires have burned under us, great waters have been all about us, and great storms above us; but Thou hast held them back by Thy strong hand, and we have rested under the shadow of Thy love. The bird sat on the spray out in the darkness, the flower nestled in the grass, we lay down in our home, and all slept in the arms of God. The bird will trust Thee this day to give its morsel of meat, and the flower will trust Thee for its fresh raiment; so may we trust Thee this day for all the needs of the body, the soul, and the spirit. Give us this day our daily bread - Amen.

-- ROBERT COLLYER