Hush, Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name...

Hush, hush somebody's calling my name
Hush, hush somebody's calling my name
Hush, hush somebody's calling my name
Oh my Lord, Oh my Lord what shall I do, what shall I do?

Sounds like Jesus, somebody's calling my name
Sounds like Jesus, somebody's calling my name
Sounds like Jesus, somebody's calling my name
Oh my Lord, Oh my Lord what shall I do, what shall I do?

I'm so glad, troubles don't last always
I'm so glad, troubles don't last always
I'm so glad, troubles don't last always
Oh my Lord, Oh my Lord what shall I do, what shall I do?

This African-American spiritual, simply and beautifully, communicates where I am today—August 1, 2011. A year has passed since that sacred convocation of ordination took place. A year has passed since the laying on of hands. A year has passed: I have waded in the baptismal waters, given thanks at the table, and committed the dust of humanity back to the kindred elements from whence it came while spirits soared. A year has passed: There have been triumphs and trials, mountains and valleys, laughter and weeping. A year has passed and all I can do is get quiet. The Psalmist wrote, “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him” (Psalm 62:5). Hope. Aspiration. Expectation. If I am going to be prepared for what is to come—if I want to know what shall I do—then I ought to get quiet in the presence of God. He's calling my name and I've got to hush so I can hear...

And so, for the next month, I am going on praycation with Bishop Vashti McKenzie. On her blog, she describes praycation in this way:

Praycation is a spiritual discipline vacation from your ordinary prayer routine. It is a 31 -day step away the ordinary without catching a plane, boat or train. It is a journey from where you are right now to where you can be in Christ Jesus through prayer, praise, silence and study. This journey can be taken in a matter of seconds and minutes.

I invite you to take a praycation. It has been said that prayer changes things. I don't discount the validity of that statement, but more than changing things, prayer changes me. And I don't know about you, but I want to be changed—transformed—into the woman that God created and purposed for me to be.

("Hush, Hush Somebody's Callin' My Name" is a traditional African-American spiritual song. The author is unknown.)