Advent Devotions

Today’s author is Prince of Peace member Carol Swanson

After my dad retired, he took up cross stitching as a hobby. While on a visit with Dad, he was flipping through a cross-stitch catalogue. He showed me this quote from Thomas Merton and asked me what I thought of it. I feel like that sometimes, I said. Well, I forgot about it, but when I visited him for Christmas months later, I unwrapped his gift, the cross-stitched psalm expressing the hope and trust in God’s loving presence. I share it with you.

The Road Ahead

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean that I actually am doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this,
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore, will I trust you always
though I may seem lost
and in the shadow of death I will not fear,
for you are forever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my troubles alone.
––Thomas Merton