August 15, 2004

I JUST LIKE IT

I got this in an e-mail tonight from Blogless Brother Roy. Personally, I'm "none of the above" in the religion category, but I still think this poem captures the essence of Christianity as it's held and practiced by most decent people, so I thought I'd share it for the sake of my "one of the above" readers.

NOTE: The e-mail I got credited this to Maya Angelou. The original author of this poem was actually Carol Wimmer, and there appear to be several different versions floating around. I like this one best.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean living"
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I was just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow.

Posted by: Harvey at 12:54 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Harvey, that's beautiful and I thank you for posting it. That sums up my beliefs perfectly. And...just what I needed right now. Thanks

Posted by: Tammi at August 15, 2004 07:02 AM (4Ls5e)

2 Thanks dude. I've passed it on to several other "one of the above" people.

Posted by: physics geek at August 16, 2004 09:17 AM (Xvrs7)

3 I wrote to both Carol Wimmer and Maya Angelou's agent (they book her lectures) and learned that Maya Angelou did NOT write the version attributed to her. I heard back from Carol too, who is aware of the mis-attribution to Maya, albeit a version slightly different from her original. If you like, I can forward the two e-mails. Like you, I like the one you posted (attributed to Maya) over the version Carol copy-righted. My e-mail is dorisju@hotmail.com

Posted by: doris ju at August 30, 2004 10:11 AM (KEdMI)

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