Don’t make friends with an elephant trainer unless you have room in your home for an elephant.– saying of the Sufis
O Blessed one, you whose voice calls me
to the sacred path of the pilgrim,
I wish to seek you with all my heart.Yet I am often half-hearted in that desire
when I realize the cost of such a quest.My life is rather comfortable and well-ordered
and fits me like an old shoe.I fear the knowledge that if I romance you
I may lose what I hold dear.Be compassionate with my hesitation
as I measure the cost of loving you.I have read in the holy books
and know from the lives of the saints,
that you, my god, come as purifying fire
to burn away all that is not true.I tremble at the thought
of you consuming those things that I love
and even my prized image of who I am.Yet, I also want to know you more fully;
help me to embrace the awesome implications
of my inviting you to enter my life.Enlarge my half-hearted love
with the ageless truth
that if I seek your kingdom first,
seek to be fully possessed by you,
everything I need shall be given me,
and happiness beyond my wildest dreams
shall be mine.Come today, Creator of elephants and saints,
and be my friend.– Edward Hays
Oh Blessed One
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Learn more about my ministry at The Art of Meaning
Read my thoughts about congregational life at Hold My Chalice
[…] my ordination, I was certain to include a poem by Edward Hays that includes these […]