Sometimes It Just Seems to be Too Much

Sometimes, Lord,
it just seems to be too much:
too much violence, too much fear;
too much of demands and problems;
too much of broken dreams and broken lives'
too much of war and slums and dying;
too much of greed and squishy fatness
and the sounds of people devouring each other and the earth;
too much of stale routines and quarrels,
unpaid bills and dead ends;
too much of words lobbed in to explode and leaving shredded hearts and lacerated souls;
too much of turned-away backs and yellow silence, red rage and the bitter taste of ashes in my mouth.
Sometimes the very air seems scorched by threats and rejection and decay until there is nothing but to inhale pain and exhale confusion.
Too much of darkness, Lord, too much of cruelty and selfishness and indifference...
Too much, Lord, to much, too bloody, bruising, brain-washing much.
Or is it too little, too little of compassion, too little of courage, of daring, of persistence, of sacrifice; too little of music and laughter and celebration?
O God, make of me some nourishment for these starved times, some food for my brothers and sisters who are hungry for gladness and hope, that, being bread for them, I may also be fed and be full.


As I read this poem I am aware of the heavy reality that over a billion people live each day with less than a dollar and I just today spent $11 on lunch. How can I continually forget these facts and complain about my need. Even after seeing it face to face I struggle to lay down my own selfishness.

O Lord, help me to believe that inspite of all of this evil in the world you are a loving and compassionate God that wants to give life abundantly to each of your children.