Good morning…
Sometimes we feel lost alone beneath our many layers. Even forming an honest prayer can feel really, really hard. For those moments of chaotic complexity, I just met a revealing poem. Over the phone, a friend read aloud these powerful words so that I could understand more clearly her personal struggle. I can relate to the feeling of being somehow called out of my own tomb of timidity.
As you slowly experience this poem for yourself, what phrases most resonate with you right now?
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Find Me Lord by Ted Loder
Oh, Eternal One,
It would be easier for me to pray
If I were clear and of a single mind and a pure heart;
If I could be done hiding from myself and from you, even in my prayers.
But, I am who I am,
Mixture of motives and excuses,
Blur or memories,
quiver of hopes,
Knot of fear,
tangle of confusion,
And restless with love, for love.
I am lost somewhere between gratitude and grievance,
Wonder and routine,
High resolve and undone dream,
Generous impulses and unpaid bills.
Come, find me, Lord. Be with me exactly as I am.
Help me find me, Lord.
Help me accept what I am, so I can begin to be yours.
Make of me something small enough to snuggle,
Young enough to question
Simple enough to giggle,
Old enough to forget,
Foolishness enough to act for peace,
Skeptical enough to doubt the sufficiency of anything but you,
And attentive enough to listen…
As you call me out of the tomb of my timidity into the chancy glory of my possibilities
And
The power of your presence.
Amen.
******
Whenever our hearts make us feel guilty and remind us of our failures, we know that God is much greater and more merciful than our conscience, and he knows everything there is to know about us. My delightfully loved friends, when our hearts don’t condemn us, we have a bold freedom to speak face-to-face with God (1 John 3:20-21, TPT).
Found without condemnation and freed from your tomb of timidity, what might you say to God face-to-face?
…Sue…
P.S. Thank you Gina Palermo for the photo depicting our many layers.
