When I have those “sighs too deep for words” days, I find myself going back to songs in Swahili that are so deep in my heart they hold me steady when the world is spinning. It’s been one of those weeks.
Thanks to the internet, it’s easier to find the familiar sounds of Swahili choruses and hymns that I don’t have other opportunity to immerse myself in. So it’s easy to go down a YouTube black hole in search of the comfort and grounding that these sounds provide. Maybe that’s what they mean about the power of the ‘heart language.’
One song that is deep in my bones is “Usinipite Mwokozi.” This is not a particularly dynamic song, and I don’t even know the English words that well. There are ‘better’ Swahili songs and probably ‘better’ English ones too. But it is one of those songs that finds its way to the surface when I have no other words. This week I’m praying the plural version of ‘me’ and ‘my’.
We who are overwhelmed by grief–past, present and future: do not pass us by
We who are weary with caregiving: do not pass us by
We who are overwhelmed with the weight of the world: do not pass us by
We who just can’t catch a break…or a breath: do not pass us by
We who are trying to guide and lead others: do not pass us by
We who are wondering what is going on in the world: do not pass us by
We who are increasingly discouraged by systems and structures
We who are doing our best with what we’ve got
We who are wandering without direction
We who no longer have an anchor of conviction
We who are so over platitudes and empty rituals
We who do not feel brave.
Do not pass us by
| Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior (by Fanny Crosby) Pass me not, O gentle Savior, Hear my humble cry; While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by. Savior, Savior, Hear my humble cry; While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by. |