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Dear God,
Life begins all rush and
eagerness:
First Tooth, First Long Trousers, First
Grade,
First Communion, First Date, First Prom,
First Year Away at School,
First Job, First Apartment, First Love....
But You are always with
me, God.
Then maturity, responsibility,
career,
new friends and old coming and going.
New living quarters,
new adventures and achievements.
Lasting love.
Busy, and I may have forgotten
You often, God.
First gray hair, mid-life crises, travel,
gains and losses, security and insecurities,
same-old, same-old, passing years ...
You quell my fears, God.
... and suddenly, the long-awaited,
longed-for time to retire arrives.
Freedom, peace and quiet, empty days,
leisure, relaxation,
release from responsibilities.
Then, solitude, as days
dwindle down,
time passes silently on soft slippers,
inescapably, inexorably, leaving wrinkles,
and blurring eyesight, names and memories
as eternity looms large and ever more imminent.
You are more on my mind,God.
The grand and gaudy attractions
of this wonderful, wonderful world
begin to fade - as slowly, slowly,
imperceptibly, ever so silently,
they lose their grand appeal
in the quiet sunsets:
been there, done that. Again? Not so much.
Friends start making their
exits,
notably or silently, disappearing one by one,
out of the phone chain, emails returned,
into the sunset with John Wayne.
Stay with me, God.
Bones weaken and muscles tire and ache.
Breath shortens and energy flags.
Accustomed distances lengthen.
The previously important things
seems not so important.
The daily news seems not so new as oh, so, old.
Thoughts and hopes turn silently
toward eternity
in the quiet of a sleepless night
or with a sudden start on a busy street
perhaps seeing a church steeple, or a baby,
a funeral procession or a wedding party.
Let us then place our house in order, God,
swept and dusted, the detritus of ignobility
and the cobwebs of indolence and negligence
dealt with and exorcised.
Petty grievances forgiven or forgotten.
Material possessions, not so valued.
All regrets and temptations then left behind,
we can have cloak and staff,
merits and verities in hand when the dark angel knocks and the door
to eternity swings wide.
No, we know not the day nor the hour
but we can neither deny nor defy the inevitable.
Let us then prepare to leave willingly,
unsurprised, joyfully resigned,
with anticipation, godly fear,
empty handed except for our small charities,
and with hope upon hope upon long-held hope,
and trust - in You,
the Master Who made us for eternity.
Thank You for this life, my Creator,
my dear Lord. Let me come to You.
Into Your hands I commend my spirit.
I am Yours alone now and forever.
Do with me what You will.
I am Yours.
Amen
(c) 2011 Donn B. Murphy Next
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