"What do you say about yourself?"

[John] said,

"I am the voice of one

         crying in the wilderness,

'Make straight

         the way of the Lord.'"

                   John 1. 22-23

(What in the world

           am I doing here?

Did I take a wrong turn?

It may appear a bleak landscape,

     a wild unknown stretch,

but God has strategically placed

      each one of us

      to bring the name of Jesus there.

How do we see ourselves?

Preparing the way of the Lord

in the lives of those

           all around us.

How is that played out today:

         every divine encounter,

     every intentional action,

    every odd circumstance,

         every appointment,

                  sacred in His sight?)

O LORD,

You guide us in places

          unknown and uncertain,

  but also the very familiar,

that we would bring

             Your name there.

Help us to know

   that others are always watching

   and listening

     even when we don't notice,

to see if You are really real.

Help us to prepare Your way

and prepare the soil

that others would come

               to know You.