And God Said, "No"
I asked God to take away my pain.
God said 'NO. It's not for me to take away. It's for you to give it up.'
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said 'No. Her spirit is whole. Her body is only temporary' So love her whole.
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said 'No. Patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn't granted. It is earned.'
I asked God to give me happiness.
God said 'No. I'll give you blessings. Happiness is up to you'.
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said 'No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.'
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said 'No. You must grow on our own. But I will prune you to make you fruitful.'
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said 'No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.'
I asked God to help me love others as much as he loves me and God said 'Ah, finally you're getting the idea'.
By Claudia Minden Weisz
3 comments:
I dislike the line about suffering, because I doubt that anyone who is really suffering would find that line consolatory; and if suffering has any purpose, it is for the growth of our spirit. But some suffering just bloody well hurts, and no amount of platitudes will make it hurt less.
I also dislike the line about the temporariness of the body. (Well, yes, bodies are temporary, but it doesn't mean we should regard them as merely meat.)
In the first line of this poem, someone has changed "pride" to "pain" which is not only confusing, but has God giving two different answers regarding pain. The correct verse is:
I asked God to take away my pride. And God said "No".
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.
There appears to be two versions of this poem online:
I asked God to take away my “pain”. And God said "No".
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.
And
I asked God to take away my “pride”. And God said "No".
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.
The former version was used in a Unitarian service and was appropriate to the theme at the time.
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