Devotional 2-29-12

A Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
(Shhh, it’s alright. Grammy loves you.)
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
(That’s it. Close your eyes and go to sleep.)
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night.
(Here’s your blanket. Here’s your bottle.)
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
(Pappy loves you, too.)

When my grandson, Landon, began to spend the night with Grammy and Pappy, he had a little trouble getting to sleep. No matter how hard Don and I tried to replicate his nightly routine, we were not Mom and Dad. To distract him and put him at ease, I decided to sing a lullaby. Unfortunately I didn’t know any. So I chose the most soothing song I knew, “Be Thou My Vision”. At first I got some of the stanzas a little confused, but by the time his sister Ruby was born, I could sing them all with the confidence of a rock star. They both loved it, and I loved sharing it with them.

“Be Thou My Vision” was originally a poem commonly attributed to Saint Dallan Forgaill. He was given the name Dallan, which means “little blind one,” after he lost his sight as the result of studying intensely. He was killed in 598 when pirates broke into the island monastery of Inniskeel, County Donegal. His poem was part of monastic tradition for centuries before it was translated from Old Irish into English by Mary Elizabeth Byrne in 1905. The English text was first versified by Eleanor Hull in 1912, and that version, set to the tune of Slane, is the one we have in our hymnal. (Wikipedia)

Recently the Sanctuary Choir at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church began practicing “Be Thou My Vision” for the March 4 anthem. I had sung it many times, but this time, instead of focusing on the beautiful melody, I looked at the text. What did the author mean by a “vision”? Was he talking about his sight, a religious experience, a mental image of what the future might be? Maybe he was referring to all of these definitions and more!

While I do not pretend to know what a poet was thinking 1500 years ago, I do know what Forgaill’s words say to me today. They tell me that when he turned off his TV, computer, phone, Xbox, ( oops, that would be us) and focused on Jesus, he found love, wisdom, joy, truth, a loving and protective father, and most importantly an inheritance of grace. Let’s turn off our gadgets, tune in to prayer and study, and see if we can find our Vision. That would make this hymn so much more than a lullaby.

Let this be your Lenten prayer of rededication.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul's Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Becky Warren