Thaw

The pavements and roads around here are like ice rinks. Melting snow with ice underneath. Very difficult to walk. When we tried to park the car on the hill, it continued to slide down with the handbrake on. Interesting times.

I share with you the words of the Prayer of Sir Francis Drake, written in a letter from his ship Elizabeth Bonaverture, lying at anchor at Cape Sakar on 17 May 1587. Until this week I had never heard of it, however it came in a New Year letter from a friend, and was also referred to in the sermon at church this morning.

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;
Having fallen in love with life,
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 into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.