Saturday, January 07, 2006
I cry out to you
Out of the depths I cry unto you,
O Lord,
My Light and my Hope.
The darkness is deep today,
O Lord,
and I feel the waters rising
that threaten to sweep me away,
and in my fear
and in my anxiety
and in my hope
and in my longing,
I cry out to you.
Lord,
From dust you made me,
to dust will my body return,
but it is you who put the life in me,
it was you who breathed his last
so that I might live,
it was you who shattered death
so that you might take me home.
In the darkness of my fears
show me Golgotha, Lord,
that I might kneel
in the shadow of your cross
and see how much you care.
In the depths of my anxieties, O Lord,
show me your empty tomb,
and the hope you left with us
so we know your word is true.
When I feel so overwhelmed,
show me the Garden,
and how you sanctified the struggle
to do the right thing,
the Father's will
with your own dark moment.
O Lord,
who lets my cry come unto you,
who sends back the word,
"I know.
I am there with you.
I will never leave you alone,"
I trust in you,
be thou my strength,
my life,
my hope,
this day and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
O Lord,
My Light and my Hope.
The darkness is deep today,
O Lord,
and I feel the waters rising
that threaten to sweep me away,
and in my fear
and in my anxiety
and in my hope
and in my longing,
I cry out to you.
Lord,
From dust you made me,
to dust will my body return,
but it is you who put the life in me,
it was you who breathed his last
so that I might live,
it was you who shattered death
so that you might take me home.
In the darkness of my fears
show me Golgotha, Lord,
that I might kneel
in the shadow of your cross
and see how much you care.
In the depths of my anxieties, O Lord,
show me your empty tomb,
and the hope you left with us
so we know your word is true.
When I feel so overwhelmed,
show me the Garden,
and how you sanctified the struggle
to do the right thing,
the Father's will
with your own dark moment.
O Lord,
who lets my cry come unto you,
who sends back the word,
"I know.
I am there with you.
I will never leave you alone,"
I trust in you,
be thou my strength,
my life,
my hope,
this day and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Need for God, Suffering
Thursday, January 05, 2006
You are God, and I am not.
Wrapped in a fevered moment,
touched by one of those diseases
that remind me
that I am not the one in control,
that, with all of mankind,
I share a certain fragility,
yes, even a mortality,
and through the influenza aches
once again I come face to face with that reality:
You are God, and I am not.
You are he who at the beginning
spoke the word,
and the dance of life began.
You are he who loved his creation enough
to become a part of it
to heal us.
You are he who holds my life
in the palm of you hand.
Lord, forgive us for our vain attempts
to make you seem small,
human-sized,
a personal toy,
and then making ourselves look grander
by comparison.
O Lord,
thank you for moments like this,
where you still my heart long enough
that I know that you are God,
an awesome thing beyond my measure,
who still chooses to touch my life.
Be thou my refuge,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Wrapped in a fevered moment,
touched by one of those diseases
that remind me
that I am not the one in control,
that, with all of mankind,
I share a certain fragility,
yes, even a mortality,
and through the influenza aches
once again I come face to face with that reality:
You are God, and I am not.
You are he who at the beginning
spoke the word,
and the dance of life began.
You are he who loved his creation enough
to become a part of it
to heal us.
You are he who holds my life
in the palm of you hand.
Lord, forgive us for our vain attempts
to make you seem small,
human-sized,
a personal toy,
and then making ourselves look grander
by comparison.
O Lord,
thank you for moments like this,
where you still my heart long enough
that I know that you are God,
an awesome thing beyond my measure,
who still chooses to touch my life.
Be thou my refuge,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Be Thou My Strength
How small I seem today, Lord,
tired and sick and sad,
no thing of value have I for you,
no gift to make you glad,
just tears and pain and a worried mind
Is the mite I offer you,
And in your hands I place my heart,
This is all that I can do.
O Lord, You are my healer,
O heal my aching heart.
O Lord, be Thou my strength tonight
My illusions fall apart
Not words or skill in my poor hands
can cure the pain inside,
Within your loving arms tonight
O Lord, O let me hide!
O Lord, You are my peace -
No other peace is true,
O Lord You are my only hope
No other hope will do.
O be my light this hurting night,
O keep me close to you,
And when the morning comes at last,
I'll rise with you anew.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
tired and sick and sad,
no thing of value have I for you,
no gift to make you glad,
just tears and pain and a worried mind
Is the mite I offer you,
And in your hands I place my heart,
This is all that I can do.
O Lord, You are my healer,
O heal my aching heart.
O Lord, be Thou my strength tonight
My illusions fall apart
Not words or skill in my poor hands
can cure the pain inside,
Within your loving arms tonight
O Lord, O let me hide!
O Lord, You are my peace -
No other peace is true,
O Lord You are my only hope
No other hope will do.
O be my light this hurting night,
O keep me close to you,
And when the morning comes at last,
I'll rise with you anew.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Need for God, Suffering
