Monday, October 19, 2009

Disturb us, Lord

A photo, rather than an artwork today, a lone sea gull gazing at the vast Atlantic Ocean, taken this summer on a trip to Maine. Along with it a prayer, written by Sir Francis Drake in 1577. We need it now, more than ever.



Disturb Us, Lord


"Disturb us, Lord,
When we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have 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;
and, having fallen in love with life as we know it,
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 into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
"Sir Francis Drake -1577

2 comments:

Art Helping Animals said...

Good Morning, Della! What a great blog you posted this morning! First, at small size the seascape could be a painting ... hope you'll make it one some day. Second, the prayer by Sir Francis Drake (1577) sent chills down my spine. I guess as people we never change. Maybe this world we live in never changes. Sir Francis' prayer sure fits.

dellartist said...

Yes, it would make a nice painting. You know, ever since our trip to Maine, I have been wanting to paint seascapes...