A Prayer

Circumcise my ears, Lord Jesus,

with the knife of your

true Word, and let me hear and see you

holding my heart

like a mango,

ripe for your glory

and pleasure. Dawn on

me what you have said and what

you mean for me to hear

and do when I look

up from me and see your hand

moving in this world.

Yesterday I was shopping at Village Country Market picking up some onions, honey, eggs (the essentials, etc.) It was two o’clock and so there were not many people around. After paying and the normal pleasantries with the grocer, I looked down to gather my groceries when I heard a pleading voice, “how do you tell a good man to soften his heart?” I was instantly moved by her vulnerability and was lifting my head to say, “Oh sister! I don’t know!” when I saw that she was talking, not to me, but to the bagger. She was squeezing a mango. Then something magical happened. It was like a slow motion rewind/playback and I heard her perfectly, “how do you tell if a good mango is soft or hard?” I told them my mishearing and the three of us laughed (truly laughed) and I was glad I did not use a machine to check myself out.