I have no idea where I'm going ...

Prayer of Thomas Merton

MY LORD GOD,

I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that
I think I am following Your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You
does in fact please You.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
You will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for You are ever with me,
And you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

Have a blessed evening everyone! Tim

The Road Ahead

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
~Thomas Merton

Have a blessed day!

Tim

How Long We Wait

How Long We Wait

How long we wait,

with minds as quiet as time,

Like sentries on a tower.

How long we watch,

by night,

like the astronomers.

Heaven, when will we hear you sing,

Arising from our grassy hills,

And say: “The dark is done, and Day

Laughs like a Bridegroom in

His tent, the lovely sun,

His tent the sun, His tent the smiling sky!”?

How long we wait with minds as dim as ponds

While stars swim slowly homeward in the water of

our west!

Heaven, when will we hear you sing?

Thomas Merton. Collected Poems.New York: New Directions Press, 1977: 89-90.

I sense a new seriousness, and a new light-heartedness, in what I must do from now on in my life. God has been trying for some time, I think, to get me to prioritize what I do, and don't do. I think he is calling me to concentrate on him, and on what he gives me, rather than on what I think I ought to be doing for him. I've known this, in a kind of a way, for a long time; but I've tried to give lip-service to it, rather than admit my deep need.Hmm. Lots to think about.