What Can I Believe?
By Ted Loder
O God, I am so fragile:
My
dreams get broken,
My
relationships get broken,
My
heart gets broken,
My
body gets broken.
What can I believe,
Except
that you will not despise a broken heart,
That
old and broken people shall yet dream dreams,
And
that the lame shall leap for joy,
The
blind see,
The
deaf hear.
What can I believe,
Except
what Jesus taught:
That
only what is first broken, like bread,
Can
be shared;
That
only what is broken
Is
open to your entry;
That
old wineskins must be ripped open and replaced
If
the wine of new life is to expand.
So, I believe, Lord;
Help my unbelief
That
I may have courage to keep trying
When
I am tired,
And
to keep wanting passionately
When
I am found wanting.
O God, I am so frail:
My
life spins like a top,
Bounced
about by the clumsy hands
Of
demands beyond my doing,
Fanned
by furies
At
a pace but half a step from hysteria,
So
much to do,
My
days so few and fast-spent,
And
I mostly unable to recall
What
I am rushing after.
What can I believe,
Except
that beyond the limits
Of
my little prayers and careful creeds,
I
am not meant for dust and darkness,
But
for dancing life and silver starlight.
Help my unbelief
That
I may have courage
To
dare to love the enemies
I
have the integrity to make;
To
care for little else
Save
my brothers and sisters of the human family;
To
take time to be truly with them,
Take
time to see,
Take
time to speak,
Take
time to learn with them
Before
time takes us;
And
to fear failure and death less
Than
the faithlessness
Of not embracing
love’s risks.
God, I am so frantic:
Somehow
I’ve lost my gentleness
In
a flood of ambition,
Lost
my sense of wonder
In
a maze of videos and computers,
Lost
my integrity
In
a shuffle of commercial disguises,
Lost
my gratitude
In
a swarm of criticisms and complaints,
Lost
my innocence
In
a sea of betrayals and compromises.
What can I believe,
Except
that the touch of your mercy
Will
ease the anguish of my memory;
That
the tug of your spirit
Will
empower me to help carry now the burdens
I
have loaded on the lives of others;
That
the example of Jesus
Will
inspire me to find again my humanity.
So, I believe, Lord;
Help my unbelief
That
I may have courage
To
cut free from what I have been
And
to gamble on what I can be,
And
on what you
Might
laughingly do
With
trembling me
For
your incredible world.
No comments:
Post a Comment