Awakening

By Dorris Riter

Oh, Lord, I have been a slothful servant,

Doing Thy will reluctantly, only at Thy bidding,

And hiding behind a pillar

In hopes Thou would not see

And so—not command.

I do not know what wind

Blew the scales from my eyes

So that suddenly I began to see

What miracles lay even within my poor grasp.

I do not know when reluctance turned to willingness,

And willingness to the eagerness of joy in Thy work.

What wasted years! Oh, God!

I was not free until I loosed the shackles of my selfishness

And accepted the greatest gift Thou had to give me in this life—

Service.