There is a song in the Christian music genre called “Open the Eyes of my Heart” written by the energetic and prolific song writer Paul Baloche. After hearing it, of course it stuck in my mind for days. I hummed it everywhere I went and sang it aloud when I was alone. Today the words stir within me in my time of quiet contemplation. The lyrics are simple and the melody is very catchy:
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
Yes, open the eyes of my heart so that I can see clearly the beauty and the grace of God’s power of creation all around me. Let me see the gift of life and love in every creature, every bloom, every being. Let my heart be opened and moved with the sun’s dawning of each day and the moon’s rising each night. Through light or darkness let my eyes be open to God’s bounty. Open the eyes of my heart so that I also see the saddened and the grieving. Let my heart flow with God’s love to be a presence of comfort. Let me see in a way that compels me to do. Let me know what is mine to do and let it be that I move with courage, faith and compassion always.
Open the eyes of my heart to reach out to the homeless person at the corner today. The corner I drive by each day. Let me be moved to do more than pray. Open my eyes to see beyond the forced smile that hides a world of fear and worry of the immigrant, the refugee, the ones wondering how they will feed their families today while they dare not think about tomorrow.
Once my eyes are open then open the ears of my heart. Please, open the ears of my heart so that I can hear the beauty of a symphony along with the words of poets and sages. I want to hear the birds at play and the bees buzzing with the joy of finding nectar for sustenance and honey. I want to hear the sounds of new born babes and kittens too. Open my ears so I can hear the cries for fairness and equality. Let me hear in such a way that I am compelled to act and to be an advocate for women and children. Let me be moved to stand with the Muslim or Jew, the trans and the gay, and people of all colors and creeds to honor their value and their beauty with liberty and justice for all.
Yes, open the eyes and the ears of my heart. When my eyes can see with clarity and my ears can hear with truth, then open the hands of my heart. Please open the hands of my heart so that I can reach to touch the new fallen snow in the cold of winter and the sandy beaches in summer’s warmth. Let me gently touch the blossom’s petals each spring and catch the leaves as they tumble from their branches come fall. Let me touch the face of a child with tenderness and love. Let me touch and be touched in ways that remind me of God’s tenderness and grace. Let me reach out a hand to lift another up should they fall. Let me hold the hand of a stranger through their journey of life, and let me know too, when to let go.
Yes, open the eyes, the ears, and hands of my heart. Pour out your power and love, for all is holy.