One Thought, One Poem

The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.  

-Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer

Holy One,

there is something I wanted to tell you

but there have been errands to run,

bills to pay,

arrangements to make,

meetings to attend,

friends to entertain,

washing to do...

and I forget what it is I wanted to say to you,

and mostly I forget what I'm about,

or why.

O God,

don't let me forget, please

for the sake of Jesus Christ...

O Father in Heaven,

perhaps you've already heard what I wanted to tell you.

What I wanted to ask is

forgive me,

heal me,

increase my courage, please.

Renew in me a little of love and faith,

and a sense of confidence,

and a vision of what it might mean

to live as though you were real,

and I mattered,

and everyone was sister and brother.

What I wanted to ask in my blundering way is

don't give up on me,

don't become too sad about me,

but laugh with me,

and try again with me,

and I will with you, too.

-Ted Loder, Guerrillas of Grace