Pry Me Off Dead Center

If “God” as used in this prayer from Ted Loder does not fit for you, feel free to substitute Life, the Universe, Yaweh, Holy Spirit, Allah, Krishna, Mother Nature, the Big Kahuna, etc.

* * *

O persistent God,
Deliver me from assuming your mercy is gentle.
Pressure me that I may grow more human
not through the lessening of my struggles
but through an expansion of them
that will undamn me and unbury my gifts.
Deepen my hurt
until I learn to share it
and myself openly and my needs honestly
Sharpen my fears
until I name them and release the power I have locked in them
and they in me.
Accentuate my confusion
until I shed those grandiose expectations
that divert me from the small, glad gifts
of the now and the here and the me.
Expose my shame where it shivers,
crouched behind the curtains of propriety,
until I can laugh at last
through my common frailties and failures
laugh my way toward becoming whole.
Deliver me
from just going through the motions
and wasting everything I have
which is today,
a chance,
a choice,
my creativity,
your call.
O persistent God,
Let how much it all matters
Pry me off dead center
So if I am moved inside
to tears
or sighs
or screams
or smiles
or dreams,
they will be real and I will be in touch with who I am
and who you are
and who my sisters and brothers are.