be my arms cradling the weeping;
be my voice crying out to make the senseless violence cease!
Be my feet running forward
as my back takes on the burden
of stopping hate and committing myself to be an instrument of peace."
As the cloud dispersed I could have sworn
it looked like a kindly face,
but that isn't the part that really seemed so odd...
I swear I saw the same face on a thousand folks that day,
so I think I must have seen the face of God...
in the face of a firefighter
scrambling in the rubble...
in the faces in the blood lines... in the hospital orderly...
in the pastor giving comfort...
and the steelworker moving I-beams...
in the congregations praying... and hopefully me.
So let's be hands to mend the broken;
let's be arms cradling the weeping;
let's be voices crying out to make the senseless violence cease!
Let's be feet running forward
as our backs take on the burden
of stopping hate and committing ourselves to be instruments of peace.
Copyright © 2001 by LF Gasparovic, Ravenna United Methodist Church, Seattle WA
All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to copy when credited.
Be My Hands Songsheet (pdf file with melody and chords)
Listen to a sample using
QuickTime
RealPlayer
Drawing copyright © 2001 Noel Sikes.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.
At Victory Christian School the young people were asked to draw something regarding the terrorist actions in New York as part of their own healing. This drawing by 15 year old Noel Sikes of Conyers, Georgia entitled "The World Trade Center in Divine Hands" appeared on the UMCOR site the same day as this song. It was the perfect illustration of the vision I had as I described the "face in the cloud".
Thank you, Noel, for your vision.
