i'm sorry

I saw a little bird in the middle of the road with two broken wings.  It must’ve been hit by a car. 

I’m sorry for the person who hit her.  I’m sorry for the little bird whose heart must be beating so fast, so fast. 

I’m sorry I'm not a veterinarian.  I’m sorry I didn’t take the time to stop, to pick her up, and to place her in a little patch of shade along the roadside. 

I’m sorry for all the men and women coming home from war, coming home with broken hearts and broken wings.  I’m sorry I'm not doctor, or a nurse, or a chaplain at the VA hospital.

I'm sorry for what I've done, and for what I've left undone.  I have not loved the world with my whole heart.  I have not loved my neighbor as myself.

For the sake of your Son — the healer of every heart and every wing — have mercy.  Have mercy on that bird, on those soldiers, on the doctors and nurses and chaplains.  Have mercy on all of us.  

Give us the courage to speak the truth, to say "I'm sorry" when we should, and to mean it — and yet never merely to wallow in it, but rather to learn, and grow, and live.  

Let us be that dignified, that beautiful, that simple and clear.

Loving God, forgive us so that we might walk and work in your ways, to the glory of your name, now and forever.  Amen.

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Thanks to David for this tender image.