Make Me A Channel

Make Me A Channel


Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring your love.
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in you.

Chorus:
Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness, ever joy.

Chorus:

Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all men that we receive
And in dying that we're born to eternal life.

I was a little girl. Eleven years old to be exact. In the CRC (Christian Reformed Church), babies were baptized and then once you got older, you professed your faith (a public declaration). The equivalent would be dedication and baptism.This is about the same time that I read "The Cross and the Switchblade" and knew that I wanted to work with at risk youth (although that's not what I called them then)

So my dad asks me: did I want to do my profession of faith. And my heart leapt. Yes I did!. Little did I know....oh, little did I know....

What that entailed was that I sit weekly (likely for 6-8 weeks) before the elder board of the church (who ran EVERY meeting with ALL of them dressed in suits) and defend my faith and explain what I wanted to do this. Additionally, to be quizzed as to my biblical knowledge. Talk about terrifying and traumatizing a little girl.

Anyhow, I successfully "passed" and so the date was set. I was to stand before the church and profess my faith. And then I heard this song. And I KNEW that this song needed to be a part of this process. So in my little trembling, wobbly 11 year old  girl voice, I now stood before the congregation, terrified and sang out this song from my heart. And did I mean it. I meant EVERY WORD that I sang. I truly wanted to be the epitome of that song.

Fast foward many years. And now I am hearing about everyone having a life verse. And my heart is desperate for one. And so awakens that desire.

Fast forward to now. As I sit and reflect on the words of that song, a few things jump out at me. One? That prayer, that song is my life verse. It is what I want to do. It is my hearts deepest desire to bring that forth, call that out and release people into that. And so I sing and pray:

Make me a channel of your peace.

Where there is hatred let me bring your love.
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in you.

Make me a channel of your peace

Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness, ever joy.

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek

So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul.


I sit here and blog this, pour my heart into this post and weep. My heart longs to do this and I believe that in my counselling practice, I do do so. And in light of some recent personal sceanrios, I do believe that I live this. However, I also know there are areas that I have not done my best. Certain things have gotten in the way, and I have reacted instead of acted.

When I was a young girl of 11, this was my heart. However, little did I know that the training ground would be so terribly painful, would be so filled with aunguish.

But, if I want to impart love, I need to know and have EXPERIENCED hatred. If I want to impart forgiveness and pardon, I NEED to know injury. If I want to shine of truth faith, my own MUST have been shaken.

If I want to impart hope, I must have held hands with despair. If I want to reflect the light of the King, I must have walked in the darkness. And if I want to shift paradigms to that of joy, I must be bent to my knees with sadness and grief.

The training ground is hard. But today as I sit, a woman of 37, and this is still my heart's intent.

Listen as I sing along:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtJeI4Q9nBE