The list grows--sometimes on lengthy strips of paper.
How easily my life becomes a list--
a long scroll of duties.
Sometimes the lists break down
into separate memos--
A batch of yellow memory scraps
each with an injunction.
Do this! Do that!
I can't get rid of my lists.
Perhaps there is some primitive magic here,
that if I name my duties I must perform them.
But then I almost always rebel.
These lists when they aren't burdening me,
give me an oppositional determination
to disobey and to do whatever I please.
Why do I put this "have-to-do-it" burden
on myself? It only makes me righteous,
artificially safe, and soul-tired.
Help me to sit here quietly.
Help me not so much to plan as to listen.
Help me to be informed, as in
"shaped from within," by Your will.
My burden is so heavy.
Yours is always light.
Being Home by Gunilla Norris, p. 21-22
Posts
1 comment:
I've tried keeping lists of "things to do". That just hasn't worked for me! Perhaps I, to, have a need to rebel and "do whatever I please".
Gunilla's prayer at the end is just what I need today!
Post a Comment