Resignation

My friend Deanne recently forwarded this poem to me.  It was written by Jeanne Marie de la Motte-Guyon (Madam Guyon), 1648-1717,  a French mystic who wrote from her cell where she was imprisoned for her faith.  I post it today in honor of my family members and friends who are learning to sing a similar song of joy in resignation.

RESIGNATION

A little bird I am,

  Shut from the fields of air;

And in my cage I sit and sing

  To Him who placed me there;

Well pleased a prisoner to be,

Because, my God, it pleases Thee.

Naught have I else to do;

  I sing the whole day long;

And He whom most I love to please

  Doth listen to my song;

He caught and bound my wandering wing,

But still He bends to hear me sing.

Thou hast an ear to hear,

  A heart to love and bless;

And though my notes were e'er so rude,

  Thou wouldst not hear the less;

Because Thou knowest, as they fall,

That love, sweet love, inspires them all.  

My cage confines me round;

  Abroad I cannot fly;

But though my wing is closely bound,

  My heart's at liberty.

My prison walls cannot control

The flight, the freedom, of the soul.

O, it is good to soar

  These bolts and bars above,

To Him whose purpose I adore,

  Whose providence I love;

And in Thy mighty will to find

The joy, the freedom of the mind.