Psalm 26
a song of dissatisfaction
You know, Lord,
sometimes in spite
of all of my deficiencies,
I am dissatisfied
with what I have. I
don’t wish to be
un-thankful, but
there it is. I wish
things were better.
I wish the world were
giving and forthcoming
in all its parts and
places.
I wish we were better
people—generous to
strangers, open to
the differences that
others bring into all
our overlapping circles.
I wish we were more
grateful. Start with me.
clcouch123 
January 31, 2016 at 2:35 am
Your prayer is touching. It is hard to be dissatisfied with life. I always think of the verse ” my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.” Sometimes it helps, sometimes I think I’m tired of being weak and not able to help make the world better in my disease. But I think we all make a difference in our little spaces. Gratefulness is tough when we don’t feel particularly grateful. When people are ungracious and not generous. But I am always surprised by something I experience when I think this way too. Wait for it, you will see a spark of goodness of generosity when you least expect. Wonderful very relatable Psalm. I hope your weekend gets better.
January 31, 2016 at 6:44 pm
Thank you for wonderful and relatable. I don’t think I could ask for better descriptors. I think one reason I posted this poem when I have is that I felt dissatisfaction in everything I was doing. That everything I did was wrong or didn’t fit or even came across the opposite of what I meant. Yes, there is grace. And thank goodness God is the maker and provider of grace. And it is sufficient, when I’m not. I think I’ll feel better when the limits of the snow go away at least until next year. I’m sure you can handle high snow that seems everywhere much better than I. Thanks, as ever, for your encouragement.
January 31, 2016 at 10:28 pm
🙂
January 31, 2016 at 4:25 am
We wish for many things… At times I do feel ungrateful because I want more. I love this, Christopher.
February 1, 2016 at 12:28 am
Thanks, Annie. Sometimes I wish I could wave a wand, though most of the time I’m glad I can’t.
February 1, 2016 at 1:10 pm
So true, Christopher.
February 1, 2016 at 3:48 am
Oh. Thank you for this poem. You almost made me cry. This weekend, I had that tinge of sadness. My bestfriends are now earning as much as me, their boyfriends have cars, mine has no. They have beautiful houses, while mine remains old and almost destroyed.
Honestly, I am really sad, and not contented. It’s like… why is it like that? Why God can give them those things. What have I done wrong? What am I not doing.
But after I attended church yesterday, I surrendered all my questions to Him. Him who knows everything. I choose to be grateful, and I prayed I will remain grateful. 🙂
February 1, 2016 at 6:08 pm
Gratitude is certainly the better path to take. This way we won’t turn a privilege into a right. I’m glad, though sad, that you can relate so well to the dissatisfaction in the poem. One of the ways we deceive ourselves is in thinking that a lack of having things–good things–is that we have done something wrong, something to offend even God. It is a theme taken up in the last of the Chronicles of Narnia.
Apparently, it seems the world is the way it is–is allowed to be this way–because our choices have to be real, which means consequences of choices must be real. Could those around the planet with help those without? Or make it more possible for everyone to strive on an equal plain? Sure, though that’s up to the global us.
In the mean time, God loves each of us, Perfectly and always. God not only wants us to be thankful but also to turn our burdens over. I’m not always sure what that means, though I believe it works.
For many, life will be hard before it’s soft. The good thing is that we can pray for each other and ourselves. (I’m praying for you to have a better house.) Both kinds of prayer will count before our perfect, loving God. Sorry for going on about that which you know so well. I guess I’m working it out for me (too). Thank you.
February 2, 2016 at 3:02 am
Thank you for words, Christopher. They almost made me cry! :’) But thank you really. 🙂