Prayer for Vocation Sun, 14th August, 2014
What gifts have I to offer the world?
Perhaps it is the gift of beauty
In the form of music or simple poetry,
Or a picture of a raindrop on a leaf.
Simple things are these that for most
Would go unnoticed or perhaps soon forgotten.
But I will never forget, or at least I hope I won’t,
For there is a universe to discover inside a raindrop.
Perhaps it is the gift of perspective.
In my own seeking and exploring
I have found the greatest joy in discovering,
Taking the road less traveled by.
My joy is to lead people to new knowledge.
Maybe it’s a tour of my town,
Maybe it’s reacquainting people with their own forgotten history.
My bliss is to explain Transylvania and the meaning of Delmar.
Can I find vocation in a concept as simple as perspective?
I can imagine myself a barred owl or a great blue heron,
But can I imagine myself a poor, young black man?
Can I imagine myself homeless, scared and alone?
Maybe it’s enough that I have also felt outcast,
A stranger in my own land,
Afraid to be my true self,
Afraid to love too much or too little.
Let me be at peace with my own darkness,
My own pain, my own suffering.
I am not here to be perfect or to wear the mask of another,
But simply to offer my imperfect self on the altar of ultimate meaning.
Can I show people what life is like on the other side,
On the other side of fear, of hate, of misunderstanding?
Can I be the Horton who alone can hear
The still small voice saying 'don't forget us'?
Can I still myself long enough to hear
The cries of a hurting and restless world,
To collect the scattered sparks of the divine
And in so doing make creation whole again.
I have a gift to share with the world,
Offered with humility, in the palms of outstretched hands.
Who will accept this gift, and do I care if it’s no one?
Perhaps I must offer it nonetheless.
Could I stand here for eternity, like Lady Liberty,
In a state of perpetual giving?
Will I have enough to give and still have enough left
For myself and for those who need me?
And today I feel the answer is yes.
Yes to being a bridge that leads to love,
Yes to being a candle that offers hope,
Yes to journeying ever onward,
Yes to standing firm and planted in this place,
This place where I know in my bones
I am meant to be,
With those I know in my heart
I am meant to love.
And someday when I’m gone,
Let them not shed a tear,
Unless it’s just a small tear of gratitude
That I helped them see something along the way
That they had not noticed before,
A new connection, a new path, a new thought,
A drop of rain on a leaf bending the light,
Even if just for a moment—
Long enough for eyes to meet eyes
And say simply I see you, I hear you, I want to know you.
Perhaps, in the end, I want my life
To be about holding hands.
Sad that I only
Have two.
What gifts have I to offer the world?
Perhaps it is the gift of beauty
In the form of music or simple poetry,
Or a picture of a raindrop on a leaf.
Simple things are these that for most
Would go unnoticed or perhaps soon forgotten.
But I will never forget, or at least I hope I won’t,
For there is a universe to discover inside a raindrop.
Perhaps it is the gift of perspective.
In my own seeking and exploring
I have found the greatest joy in discovering,
Taking the road less traveled by.
My joy is to lead people to new knowledge.
Maybe it’s a tour of my town,
Maybe it’s reacquainting people with their own forgotten history.
My bliss is to explain Transylvania and the meaning of Delmar.
Can I find vocation in a concept as simple as perspective?
I can imagine myself a barred owl or a great blue heron,
But can I imagine myself a poor, young black man?
Can I imagine myself homeless, scared and alone?
Maybe it’s enough that I have also felt outcast,
A stranger in my own land,
Afraid to be my true self,
Afraid to love too much or too little.
Let me be at peace with my own darkness,
My own pain, my own suffering.
I am not here to be perfect or to wear the mask of another,
But simply to offer my imperfect self on the altar of ultimate meaning.
Can I show people what life is like on the other side,
On the other side of fear, of hate, of misunderstanding?
Can I be the Horton who alone can hear
The still small voice saying 'don't forget us'?
Can I still myself long enough to hear
The cries of a hurting and restless world,
To collect the scattered sparks of the divine
And in so doing make creation whole again.
I have a gift to share with the world,
Offered with humility, in the palms of outstretched hands.
Who will accept this gift, and do I care if it’s no one?
Perhaps I must offer it nonetheless.
Could I stand here for eternity, like Lady Liberty,
In a state of perpetual giving?
Will I have enough to give and still have enough left
For myself and for those who need me?
And today I feel the answer is yes.
Yes to being a bridge that leads to love,
Yes to being a candle that offers hope,
Yes to journeying ever onward,
Yes to standing firm and planted in this place,
This place where I know in my bones
I am meant to be,
With those I know in my heart
I am meant to love.
And someday when I’m gone,
Let them not shed a tear,
Unless it’s just a small tear of gratitude
That I helped them see something along the way
That they had not noticed before,
A new connection, a new path, a new thought,
A drop of rain on a leaf bending the light,
Even if just for a moment—
Long enough for eyes to meet eyes
And say simply I see you, I hear you, I want to know you.
Perhaps, in the end, I want my life
To be about holding hands.
Sad that I only
Have two.
