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CENTER OF MY LIFE
Keep me safe, O
God, I take refuge in you. I say to the Lord, “You are my God.
My happiness lies
in you alone; my happiness lies in you alone.”
Refrain
O, Lord, you are
the center of my life; I will always praise you.
I will always
keep you in my sight.
I will bless the
Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord
ever in my sight; since he is at my right hand, I shall stand
firm. (Refrain)
And so my heart
rejoices, my soul is glad; even in safety shall my body rest.
For you will not
leave my soul among the dead, nor let your beloved know decay.
(Refrain)
You will show me
the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right
hand, at your right hand happiness forever. (Refrain)
Text: Paul Inwood,
Ladies of the Grail
Used by
permission © 1963 GIA, The Grail
The words of this
hymn, taken from Psalm 16, denote the centrality of God that we as
Christians must have in our lives. I recently started taking yoga
classes. In the midst of some of our contortions, the instructor
says “...resist away from your core.” The “core,” on this level,
refers to the heart. As the life-giving organ of the body, it
takes and receives the life-giving blood of our lives.
So it is with
God, for he is both the centrifugal and centripetal force of our
lives. We revolve around and evolve from his divine love. St.
Augustine, the famous theologian, said in one of his sermons,
“Listen to me, you who are poor: What is lacking if you have God?
Listen to me, you who are rich: What do you possess if you do not
have God?”
Trying to
navigate this material world without God is like riding on a bus
full of people with all the shades pulled down. The bus passes
through a breath-taking landscape of verdant hills, lush valleys
and crystal streams. The people inside, however, merely squabble
over the best seats and never see any of it. May we be open to
God’s love at all times with eyes that see and hearts that
love!
Loving Father,
let us always remember that your son reveals his presence in every
detail of our lives. May we cling to this presence always as the
center of our very being.
Joanne T. Ehrlich
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