A Writer’s Hymn
(based on and drawing from a hymn by Frances Ridley Havergal)
Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my keyboard, and my screen; my desk and office chair,
My pages, sentences, and words, my flittings here and there,
My focus and my flow, my pacings up and down,
My insecurities and fears, my grins, my groans, my frowns.
Let every bit be used by you, the good, the bad, and ugly too.
Make me better than I know to be, by being yours while being me,
Let every word I type be true by coming first and most from you.
Suggest, revise, inform, inspire, and take my writing higher and higher.
Take my fingertips, let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
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Well done!
Unbelievable! I’m knee-deep in trying to complete a proposal. But I was also asked to bring a short talk on “Take My Life And Let It Be” this past Sunday for a Bible class. I’m speechless! This post is a keeper. Thanks, Bob, for being God’s messenger.
Thinking of you, Andrew, from a fellow blue heeler owner:
This is not Biblical and yet it is: It is the First Law of Thermodynamics which says, “Nothing is created or destroyed, it only changes form.” Aka, as Einstein discovered, matter and energy are interchangeable and can convert one to the other. E= mc squared.
Speaking only for myself here, I find the thought of changing to pure energy fascinating. As I wrote in my book, I think our bodies are like hot air balloons for the energy, and when we pass, the energy just leaves this balloon! (Yes, Bob, I used an exclamation point.) Since we’ve never known anything but our balloons, it has a frightening component; the unknown always does.
I pray for peace for you, Andrew, and for all of us, both during our time in our balloons and when we depart from them. (And in case you think this is too weird, I taught science, which, by definition, makes me even more of an exclamation point!}
Love the song, Bob.
Sharon, thank you so much, and blue heelers forever! (There is one sitting on my feet as I write this.)
I love the model that you describe, of the balloon…living in New Mexico, and oten seeing balloons in the local sky, it’s particularly resonant for me.
And not weird at all. I have a couple of engineering degrees, having slipped through, like Geroge Armstrong Custer, at the bottom of my class.
Facing my own metaphorical Little Bighorn, and having a neighbour named Custer, I find that curiously reassuring…kind of an example of God’s Economy.
A day late, but I wanted to respond, Andrew. I’ve seen the beautiful balloons at Albuquerque, but don’t live there. Phenomenal. We should never underestimate “God’s economy!
Pet your heeler for me. Prayers!
Sharon
That song is a wonderful reminder of what our life is meant to be: dedicated to God to give Him glory and dedicated to others so they’ll know the love of God. Yet, Jesus said to love others as we love ourselves. What a privilege to be called by God.
Thanks for the new song.
Thanks, Bob. That is a welcome reminder that we need to submit ourselves totally to the Lord’s will for our lives.