Winter's low tide

For all sorts of reasons, that I can’t go into here, I’ve been reminded today of a prayer from David Adam’s "Tides and Seasons" collection. In the introduction to the low tide section, where the prayer is included, Adam writes:

“The low tide is the winter of our lives; it is a time of bareness and death. Yet it is also a time of strange beauty, a time of purity – and purifying. In winter we see things that we have never seen before. Our vision on clear days seems lengthened – we can see past the trees, because the foliage is gone. On the shore, low tide can be an interesting time…”

The prayer is called Caim Rune:

This is the prayer
I make today
This is the rune
I wish to say
The presence of God
To you abound
The Power of God
Keep you sound
The Love of God
Encircle round
The Peace of God
Your life surround
This is the rune
I wish to say
This is the prayer
I make today.

In the Father’s way
In the Son’s bright ray
In the Spirit’s sway
Be this day

In the Father’s sight
In the Son’s light
In the Spirit’s might
Be this night