Faith at Forty-One
God, my God, my grandmother’s God,
You have blessed me beyond the skies
You have uprooted me, unmoored me.
You have dashed my dreams into the dust.
You let my eyes pour tears—
enough to water the earth,
enough to fill the lakes,
enough to flow like rivers
And You have let me see
Your own dreams dashed,
Your tears poured out—
for an earth ignoring skies,
for dust ignoring Spirit
And as I floundered, uprooted and unmoored,
in the currents of Your tears,
You showed Yourself to be the One
who held me up,
who breathed in me,
so I was more than dust and dreams . . .
And now, content as dust, and dreamless,
I watch my roots grow deep in You—
a tree of righteousness growing up
from dust and tears,
from breath and broken heart,
reaching upward to Your sky,
hoping to make Your dreams come true.
Anonymous February 9, 2007, St. Columba
A Psalm
O Lord when we are attacked,
many cry out for vengeance
Let us always remember that you control all things
Let us only ask for justice
no matter who is at fault
Let us always remember that we also need correction
May we always be mindful of our brothers
and not be focused on greed
Let us always remember that others have less
Help us to always watch our hearts
that we remember our place in creation
Let us always remember that You alone may judge
Remind us that greed is not always for things,
some in this world really need relationships
Let us always remember that You are our family
O Lord, whatever we need
for physical, mental or spiritual health,
Let us always remember that You are the source of all.
Marty Leavell
A Psalm
Broken smile
Battered heart
Shattered spirit
Lonely, tired, hurt
I wear neglect and abuse as my garment.
Oh God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why do You turn Your face from me?
I’m starving for Your attention.
Turn Your eyes my way!
Fill me! I’m so empty now.
Used and spent, I have nothing left
Break through this darkness
I’m ready to smile again!
Heal my heart,
Renew my spirit,
Return to me my joy!
Though You turn from me
I will still hope in You.
You are YHWH
You are Alpha and Omega,
The Beginning and End.
RJV
Psalm of Complacency
Lord, I kind of love you Lord,
I kind of want to live for you,
and I am here because maybe,
just maybe,
something will happen
to wake me up again
Lord, I kind of want to pray,
but Lord, I kind of don’t because
just maybe,
I’ll have to admit what you already know
Lord, I might have to do what you want,
Lord, I might have to be who you want
Lord, I’ll admit that sometimes
it’s easier to simply yell my problems to you
as I drive down the road
than it is to do something about them
Lord, I’ll admit
that I kind of like to worry or
at least that’s what I probably like
because I do it an awful lot
Lord, I kind of want to lean on you,
but Lord, I kind of don’t
because I may not like your solution
Lord, I kind of want to take a stand
but Lord, it’s easier to just get along
Lord, I am trying to make things easy
but not make them hard,
and Lord, that’s why I’m writing you
a psalm of complacency...
because I kind of wanted to.
Abby Kattentidt
November 9, 2008
A Psalm
O Lord of heaven and earth,
Lord of earth and skies
Lord of my morning and Lord of my night
You sustain me all the day long
When the sun comes up,
I arise and call you blessed
When the stars shine,
I collapse against my bed and breathe a final word of blessing
From before the dawn until long past dusk,
My hands are about your business
My limbs grow weary,
My spirit faints within me,
My mind spins out of control
But in your infinite wisdom,
You made the night and the Sabbath
You have blessed me with rest and peace
In the chaos of the noontime,
Let me not forget your hand of mercy;
In the busyness of twilight,
Let me not forget the joy of my Lord,
For you, O Lord, are Lord of the Sabbath;
In you is perfect rest.
Lisa Manning
November 22, 2008
Under Woods
For the oh-so-alive and life-sheltering trees, I praise You, God
May their roots be mine, grounded in the humility of earth
For the green, green, life-exploding leaves, I praise You, God
May the shade and beauty of my life comfort others
For the rough, strong, never straight but crooked trunks, I praise You, God
May their strength be mine, weathering storms, not seeking straight lines
For the out-shooting, light-seeking branches, I praise You, God
May I like them reach up to Your glory and out to the world
For the woods, the underwood, and all that is over the woods, I thank You, God
May I be who You made me to be and no one else.
Sheila Underwood Vamplin
Written at Iona House, St. Columba Retreat Center, Spring 2002
A Psalm
In the Great Big Scheme of Things
I’m no more useful than a speck of dust on an ant
Tiny and with little significance,
it’s astonishing to just be here
However,
God in His magnificence comes
with gigantic love and care
to sweetly affirm my place in His Universe
while answering
my tiny dust prayer
Dust Affirmed.
Susan Owings
June 4, 2008
Jim Perdue’s Psalm
I gave my life to you Lord, at the tender age of twelve,
But I let the bright lights of Satan’s attractions blind me during my teen years
And I drifted away from you, Lord
As I entered college, a war began
so I joined the Army to do whatever I could -
for by now I felt I was a man.
The war was terrible - especially for me, a kid.
But I soon matured in battle as every kid did
You don’t see killing all around you, or a buddy die in your arms without growing up fast
And you wonder if this breathe will be your last
Being promoted to platoon Sgt. of men in just a few weeks,
it was apparent that kind words were never used to give commands
I became very proficient and articulate in the art of vulgarity and profanity - overnight
I used this vile mouth, yelling at my men, pushing them always onward
Making them feel invincible, even though at times we were outnumbered
A COUPLE OF TIMES as much as 60 to 1 -- yet we conquered!
I’ll never know why I made it through three long, long years of these battles unscathed!
‘Cause all these years I left you out Lord - even though many times I was afraid
My mouth had to be dirty in order to get my troops to move!
Oh, God!
Please understand, God, the troops would not move if I ordered them to action with a clean tongue
All the time I knew You were there, but I never felt I could call on you
My language was so deplorable, so vile, so sinful
How could I call upon you, Oh, Lord
My mouth was too dirty to talk to you, Oh, God
Forgive me, Oh God. Please God, take me back,
back like it was when I was twelve and had a clean mouth and clean heart
Amen.
Jim Perdue
(1931 - 2012)
A Psalm
Why, O God, does the suffering continue?
Why do you let my enemies rise up and win?
Why do those that love you continue to suffer day-after-day,
Struggling to feed their family?
News of more job loss and downsizing,
When will it stop?!
Have you no mercy for the people who love you
Give me clarity, O God, to your ways
Even in suffering, we praise you Lord!
Day-after-day, you slowly reveal your ways
Your wisdom knows no end!
How great is Your wisdom!
Even in suffering, all is well in You!
You are our comforter,
You are our deliverer,
Draw us near to you, Lord
And reveal your glory in our suffering!
Eddy Chester
November 19, 2008
My Psalm
Lord, you made the sun and stars and the moon, too.
The world looks wonderful because you made it.
You make the happiness in the world. You shine on the world
Lord, you are the wonderful king of the world. I love you, Lord
Lord, when we get to heaven we will run to you and give you the biggest hug ever
Lord, I will keep your covenant where ever you want me to.
You are the biggest and the best king in the world
I pray to you every day and you are the real God.
You are the sunshine and you make me happy
Lord, you are my rainbow. You keep your promises.
You know how I feel every minute of the day
Marian Barber
Age 7, First Grade