August 19, 2005

The Day Awaits

The day awaits, but I am loath
To enter its embrace.
I hide beneath the covers,
Shut the daybreak from my face.
I cannot face the morning;
I long to keep this place.

The fearsome possibilities
Of all that might transpire
Between this waking moment
And when I may again retire
To the safety of my bed, and dark,
Seem ominous as fire.

All will be well, I tell myself.
All will be well, all will be well.
The years behind stand witness,
An eternal truth to tell:
“I will not leave thee, nor forsake”
in good times, or travail.

Never has He done so,
My Master and my friend.
My doubts and fears are endless;
His comfort without end.
In bright joy or in darkness,
Within Him I am hemmed.

O foolish heart! Why do you choose
To ill anticipate,
When life’s experience belies
The myth of dire fate?
My Saviour’s here. I take His hand; arise.
The day awaits.

By Linda Abner

(Linda Abner is a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Indianapolis. “A Safe Return” is the title of this modern sculpture by Allan Houser on exhibit at the new National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., which opened on Sept. 21, 2004.) †

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