Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push us in the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Sir Francis Drake, 1577

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

that is one of my most favorite things ever...i sent it to a friend several years ago...thanks for the reminder!

Unknown said...

whoa! this poem is an exact answer (or reinforcement) to the thoughts i was having while moving out of my apartment last week. as i become more content with earthly possessions and achievements, God becomes less real to me in this world. i need him to disturb me and rekindle excitement for bigger dreams, truer life, and more mystery...