Lost my Voice for awhile...

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I lost my voice for a little while today

I couldn’t think of any words to say


I wanted to say something amazing and profound

But the words just couldn’t seem to be found


I wanted to say something to let people know how I feel

But I couldn’t come up with anything that seemed to be real


All I could do was sit here and try

And all I wanted to do was sit here and cry


To have no one hear what you want them to

Leaves you feeling sad and powerless and not sure what to do


And then I realized that this happens every day

In a million places in a hundred different ways


People on the outskirts looking in

With no one to listen or let them in


People wounded by the pain of life and living in despair

That have no idea that anyone listens or even cares


I lost my voice for a moment but they lost theirs for good

They’ve been beaten and battered and misunderstood


They’ve been left on the outside looking in

And we’ve called them all kinds of things and looked down on them and their sin


And we’ve built buildings to keep them out

And we’ve yelled at them and we scream and we shout


And we tell them they won’t get very far

And we trample all over their wounds and their scars


And we walk away without asking their story

And we think we’ve done something for His glory


But we never saw and we never cared

And we walked away because we were scared


We never wanted to get close enough to see their pain

And be reminded of our own scars and secret shame


And we never wanted to dirty our hands or our lives with their pain

So we left them there, in the cold and in the rain


And we call ourselves followers of Christ

Yet we walk away from the tough things in life


Jesus faced heartache and pain

And He was a friend to sinners, the weak and the lame


He walked with them and shared their story and their pain

And He loved them and knew them and called them by name


He hear d them when no one else knew they were there

And He held them close and He told them He cared


And He walked the journey with them and listened to what they’d say

And even His very life wasn’t to great a price to pay


God help us see those around us, those on the outside

Those that the world has looked down on and denied


Those that have no voice to speak

Those who are the outcasts, the hated, the weak


Give us ears to hear and hearts to listen to what You ask us to do

Renew a right spirit within us and make us new


Help us to live by example and not just words

Because actions are often more able to be heard


Grant me the ability to love when I don’t’ want to or think I can

And the strength to take my brother or sisters hand


Grant me a heart to hear you call my name

And to walk with you, never be the same


Give me the courage to listen as You speak

A heart that wants to know and seeks


To be your hands and feet in a world in need

And allow others the gift to lead


Help me remember and see

What all of this truly means


I lost my voice today

But I found it along the way


I found it when I stopped to help my sister and brother

When I recognized myself in another


When I stopped walking on by

When I stopped running away and trying to hide


I found my voice when I allowed others to find their own

And that’s the greatest voice I’ve ever known.



9-4-10

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