The Difference

Of all the lines made famous by Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry" Callahan, perhaps my favorite comes from the second movie in the series:

"A man's got to know his limitations."

Indeed.

Those of us who are used to having many irons in the fire are continually confronted by our limitations. We wish to do it all, we think we can do it all...but we can't.

At our best, we are finite, fallible, dependent human beings.

Martin Luther is said to have cultivated the habit of spending two or three hours a day in prayer, rising early in the morning for this purpose. Now there was a man who recognized his limitations, and to compensate for them became a regular visitor at the throne of grace, where he knew he could obtain the help he so desperately needed.

Several years ago, I ran into a poem that impressed me deeply. In fact, a copy of it stands at arm's length on the shelf to my right, an ever-present reminder of one of the secrets to success in life. May I share it with you?

I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish,
I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task.
Why doesn't God help me? I wondered,
He answered, "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak.
I wondered why God didn't show me,
He said, "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into God's presence,
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"My child, you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning,
and paused before entering the day.
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray.

(The Difference, by Grace L. Naessens)

It's worth noting that the author has seen fit to place this poem in the public domain (asking only that proper attribution be given), so that anyone is free to pass it along and share it with others.

That would make it a gift of Grace, wouldn't it?

Have a great week!