BENEDICTION

Here I Am, Send Me

A child once dreamed the Voice was calling his name. . .’Samuel’;

Fishermen once heard the Voice when a young man bid them follow;

And still the Voice beckons today. . .can you hear?

Here I am. Send me.

Moses protested vehemently as the Voice spoke at the burning bush;

Mary stood amazed as the Voice proclaimed impending birth;

And still the Voice beckons today. . .can you hear?

Here I am. Send me.

Rosa Parks followed the Voice to the front of the bus;

Martin Luther King, Jr. heard the Voice as the bullet shattered;

And still the Voice beckons today. . .can you hear?

Here I am. Send me.

The Voice beckons from humble places. . .

in the tears of hungry children,

in the cries of the frail and frightened elderly,

in the pleas of those whose dreams have been too long deferred;

and still the Voice beckons today. . .can you hear?

Here I am. Send me.

A timid believer pauses to listen to the Voice;

A struggling church hears the Voice and turns;

and still the Voice beckons today. . .can you hear?

Here I am. Send me.

— written by Katherine Hawker,