Tuesday, December 12, 2000

"and recovery of sight to the blind" Luke 4:18

Sitting in my office this morning, I was listening to the CD "Heavenly" by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The band Precious Lord, Take My Hand, created by Thomas A. Dorsey just finished. Thomas Dorsey died in 1993.

His hymn Precious Lord was written in response to the death of his wife while giving birth to their child. Within days, the child, too, had died. Devastated, laid low, broken, Thomas Dorsey was in deep remorse. His whole life - wife and child - were taken from him in a matter of hours and days. "What am I to make of all this? Why? What meaning is there in the death of my wife and child?" he must have asked.

The composing of Precious Lord, Take My Hand is Thomas Dorsey's humble response to this great lose. It offers a petition to God for strength in time of need. In the face of the blinding question of "Why?" comes a revelation of faith in God in all things.

          Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand,
          I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
          through the storm, through the night,
          lead me on to the light:
                    When my way grows drear,
                    precious Lord, linger near,
                    when my life is almost gone,
                    hear my cry, hear my call,
                    hold my hand, lest I fall:
          When the darkness appears and the night draws near,
          and the day is past and gone,
          at the river I stand, guide my feet, hold my hand:
                    Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
(Reprinted from The United Methodist Hymnal with permission of The United Methodist Publishing House, copyright 1989.)

The psalmist echoes this belief of Thomas Dorsey "...hope is in the Lord their God, who made the heaven and earth...The Lord opens the eyes of the blind" (Psalm 146:5b-6a, 8a) The healing of our hearts and spirits is not in our hands. Sometimes we say that "time" heals all things. Yet in our faith, we know and declare it is God, and God alone, who has the power to overcome the grief we experience, that devastates our soul, that brings us low in spirit. God brings us through "the storm", "hears my call", "guides my feet, holds my hand". Trust the creator of heaven and earth. God will lead us home. --DH

To ponder: Where is the dark night of the soul for you? Where do you feel at the river's edge, in need of a guide, someone to hold your hand? When do you feel blinded and to whom do you turn?

Prayer: God, so many times we want to get through the day on our own. We don't want to have to trust anyone - even you! Yet, in the deep recesses of our thinking, we remember that you are with us always. Help us to trust in your hand, outstretched in our direction. "Lead us home". Amen.

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