Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Thou
Thou,
like a breath of wind, unseen but not unfelt,
whose presence breathes across the waters of my heart,
Breathing life into each breath I take,
surrounding me in my every move,
sharing in my every joy,
feeling the anguish of my every pain,
Thou.
O Lord, Giver of life,
Comforter, Quickener, Spirit, Breath,
Direct my feet in the way they should go,
Fill my heart with that love I should have,
Teach me that trust that will let me always walk in the light,
Even through the grief,
Even through the pain
Even through the loss that comes merely with living.
And let me rest in the knowledge that you are here with me,
day by day,
giving me the words when I know not what to say,
giving me the hope to walk another step,
giving me the joy that comes unbidden
from the fountains of Heaven.
Thou,
O Lord,
O Spirit,
O God,
Glory to you!
Susan E. Stone, 2006
like a breath of wind, unseen but not unfelt,
whose presence breathes across the waters of my heart,
Breathing life into each breath I take,
surrounding me in my every move,
sharing in my every joy,
feeling the anguish of my every pain,
Thou.
O Lord, Giver of life,
Comforter, Quickener, Spirit, Breath,
Direct my feet in the way they should go,
Fill my heart with that love I should have,
Teach me that trust that will let me always walk in the light,
Even through the grief,
Even through the pain
Even through the loss that comes merely with living.
And let me rest in the knowledge that you are here with me,
day by day,
giving me the words when I know not what to say,
giving me the hope to walk another step,
giving me the joy that comes unbidden
from the fountains of Heaven.
Thou,
O Lord,
O Spirit,
O God,
Glory to you!
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship, Loving God, Praise and Thanksgiving
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Walking With Job version 3
O Lord,
there are times,
after the storm,
the bomb,
the earthquake,
the sickness,
the accident,
the crime
people shake their fists and say,
"If you loved us, how could you do this to us,
put us in a world where terror happens,
put us in a world where disaster rips out our hearts,
put us in a world where sickness steals our love,
the evil that men do empties our lives?"
How we long to blame when hurt,
how we long to kill the very thing
which stole our joy, our lives, our security,
and yet, how does one take revenge
on the shaking earth,
or sue the storm,
or arrest the plague?
Help us, God,
you, who have also been through the grieving process
as the Son,
betrayed, beaten, murdered,
the Son who saw friends and loved ones die,
who knew all those things
life brings that makes us want to rage,
strike out,
hit back.
O God, you the Father,
who saw what this world did to your son,
who saw the rejection,
who saw the murder,
and yet, for love refused to strike.
O God, you the Spirit,
you who moved upon the face of the deep,
you who quickened and brought life,
who filled the hearts of those who would listen,
how often did you see the message rejected,
the concept misunderstood,
the word twisted into personal agendas,
and yet you keep breathing your word of hope and love
even in the midst of sorrow and anguish, and despair.
O Lord, you know our pain!
How often have your arms wrapped around us,
when we, like Job,
beat our anger against your chest,
in our frustration,
our grief,
our fear,
our loss,
until at last, with anger spent,
those of us who will listen to your soft voice
come to see that we do not have the answers,
except that the world turns,
and the sun rises,
and we are much smaller than the universe,
and we are not God.
O Lord,
in our smallness and anger and grief,
remind us that you have given us the gift to grow,
and to choose,
and to accept or reject.
Help us choose the light,
even when it hurts and blinds our eyes.
Help us choose to grow,
even when the growth comes after great pain.
Help us choose to love.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
there are times,
after the storm,
the bomb,
the earthquake,
the sickness,
the accident,
the crime
people shake their fists and say,
"If you loved us, how could you do this to us,
put us in a world where terror happens,
put us in a world where disaster rips out our hearts,
put us in a world where sickness steals our love,
the evil that men do empties our lives?"
How we long to blame when hurt,
how we long to kill the very thing
which stole our joy, our lives, our security,
and yet, how does one take revenge
on the shaking earth,
or sue the storm,
or arrest the plague?
Help us, God,
you, who have also been through the grieving process
as the Son,
betrayed, beaten, murdered,
the Son who saw friends and loved ones die,
who knew all those things
life brings that makes us want to rage,
strike out,
hit back.
O God, you the Father,
who saw what this world did to your son,
who saw the rejection,
who saw the murder,
and yet, for love refused to strike.
O God, you the Spirit,
you who moved upon the face of the deep,
you who quickened and brought life,
who filled the hearts of those who would listen,
how often did you see the message rejected,
the concept misunderstood,
the word twisted into personal agendas,
and yet you keep breathing your word of hope and love
even in the midst of sorrow and anguish, and despair.
O Lord, you know our pain!
How often have your arms wrapped around us,
when we, like Job,
beat our anger against your chest,
in our frustration,
our grief,
our fear,
our loss,
until at last, with anger spent,
those of us who will listen to your soft voice
come to see that we do not have the answers,
except that the world turns,
and the sun rises,
and we are much smaller than the universe,
and we are not God.
O Lord,
in our smallness and anger and grief,
remind us that you have given us the gift to grow,
and to choose,
and to accept or reject.
Help us choose the light,
even when it hurts and blinds our eyes.
Help us choose to grow,
even when the growth comes after great pain.
Help us choose to love.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Help, Job, Need for God
