Ships Returning Home

ships returning

                                      home

   We all are ships returning home laden with
life's experiences, memories of work, good times
and sorrows, each with his special cargo;
  And it is our common lot to show the marks
of the voyage, here a shattered prow, there 
a patched rigging, and every hulk turned black 
by the unceasing batter of the restless wave.
  May we be thankful for fair weather and smooth
seas, and in times of storm have the courage
and patience that mark every good mariner;
  And, over all, may we have the cheering hope
of joyful meetings, as our ship at last drops anchor
in the still water of the eternal harbor.

                               - Max Ehrmann
                                 The Desiderata of Faith

Personal Comment & Reflection:
  The image of coming home is a very ordinary life phenomenon.  Part of man's restlessness of being is that he is always on a certain quest, on a journey, or going out even to far and unknown places to find food for his family and meaning for his life.  Coming home is the easier and relaxing part and as Max Ehrmann said like ships we return home bringing with us our experiences.  It is not just physical coming home, it can also be spiritual.  Each of us has a spiritual abode, the Kingdom of God within.  Prayer is the way for this coming home and writing too.  As we bring our experiences of the day in prayer, we stand or simply sit humbly before God, knowing that every moment lived with awareness and a listening heart becomes a road to a holy walk with God at every juncture of our life's experience.  Out of the depths of our inner longings, joys and hopes, we echo to our ever loving and listening God our songs of praise, our cry for forgiveness, our acceptance of people, things and situations and our aspirations for better days ahead.  Yes, as we come home to God in prayer, we also come home to our true self, God's apple of His loving eyes!

                                       -  Bobby Parian Sagra