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A Prayer for the Awkward Lord, in Your infinite wisdom, You have seen fit to distribute most unevenly the gifts of social graces. I observe those who turn a phrase with carefree ease, who naturally draw to themselves the company of others, for there is nothing unexpected in wanting to share in the security of quick wit and ready laughter. Likewise I admire those in whom you have distilled a graceful discretion, who know exactly the proper words and volume at which to acknowledge thanks or to express condolences, or who rightly identify the moment when silence is precisely needed, or, better yet, who comfort without advance calculation with respect to the appropriate duration of an embrace. It is said, these traits are trained, in the well-bred, though here I attribute them to Your generosity. Regardless, whether through dearth of breeding or a subtle distinction in Your divine plan, there are those to whom these graces are entirely foreign. You need look no further than I who beseech You with this prayer. Pray for us, O Lord, for we walk a crooked path, one of our own choice though made not through the exercise of volition but by rough nature alone. The consequences of awkward hands or feet or tongue are broad and largely negative. It is said, "To each according to his merits." In this we accept the contrapositive, "And to all others according to their deficiencies." The awkward understand their lot and have, in time, grown quite accustomed to it. So what is there to pray for? Lord, God of Heaven and Earth, Creator of all things good and evil, accept this awkward, meandering prayer, for I too issued from Your grace, though I display the poorest of form in my attempts to acknowledge it. |
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A Prayer for the Awkward David Keffer Knoxville, TN October 15, 2014 |