by Heather Graham
A dramatic reading in four parts.
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
A: You know me better than any friend,
B: Parent,
C: Lover.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
A: You know what I had for breakfast.
B:You know I need a haircut.
C:You know my elbow itches.
You understand my thought afar off.
A: You understand me as no human friend ever has,
B: Or will.
You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
C: There is nothing I do that is too small to be important to you.
A: You know which shoe I put on 1st this morning.
B: You how I got that dent in my car door.
There is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
A: People may misunderstand me.
B: Shut me out.
C: Be too busy to listen.
A: But you hear me perfectly.
You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand above me.
B: You protect me from the dangers I can see,
C: And the hidden evil that constantly stalks me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.
B: I cannot comprehend the intimacy of our relationship.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
C: Your Spirit is everywhere I go.
A: It never leaves me.
Or where can I flee from you presence?
B: You are everywhere.
C: Surrounding me.
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
A: When I am strong,
B: When I succeed,
C: When I feel loved,
A: You are there in my happiness.
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
B: When I am lonely and feel unloved,
C: A failure,
A: Overwhelmed with grief,
B: Addicted and weak,
C: You are there in my wretchedness.
If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me.
A: No matter how out my element I get.
B: There is nothing I can't do with you beside me.
Your right hand shall hold me.
A: I am always top priority with you.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," Even the night shall be light about me;
B: Regardless of how hopeless my life appears,
C: How I loath my situation,
A: Or myself. The darkness shall not hide From You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to you.
B: There is nothing I can do,
C: Or become,
A: Which makes me any less important to You.
B: There is nothing I can do,
C: That makes You love me even a tiny bit less.
For You have formed my inward parts;
A: Before time began,
B: You planned who I would be,
A: Down to the smallest detail.
You have covered me in my mother's womb.
B: You created who I am,
C: Unique,
A: One of a kind. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
B: You know the number of hairs on my head,
C: Every time I breath,
A: Every heart beat.
Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
B: That You place such infinite importance on me,
C: Fills me with awe.
A: That You can love each individual,
B: So single mindedly,
C: Amazes me.
My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret in the lowest parts of the earth.
A: You knew the moment I was conceived.
B: You were filled with unfathomable happiness.
C: For you, I was the only creature in the universe.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
C: You have a wonderful plan for my life.
A: Something as unique as I am.
B: A plan only I can fulfill.
C: Each time I botch up your plan
A: Which I do.
B: You have an alternate plan that is just as wonderful. C: You have as many new plans as it takes.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great are the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number that the sand;
A: You think about me constantly.
B: I never leave your mind.
When I awake I am still with you.
C: I can forget you.
A: Ignore you.
B: Claim You don't exist at all.
C: But when I am ready to acknowledge you again.
A: You are still there.
Search me, O God and know my heart;
B: Look inside my mind.
C: See all my secret thoughts.
A: Ambitions.
B: Dreams.
Try me, and know my anxieties;
C: See all my pain.
A: My worries.
B: The lies I've been told.
C: And now believe.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
A: Help me acknowledge the evil.
B: The selfishness. C: The bad habits.
A: I just can't break.
B: I want to give up all the things that hold me back
C: From loving You completely.
Lead me in the way everlasting.
A: I want to be surrounded by your love forever.
B: Just as I am today.
C: I want to do the amazing things,
A: Only I can do,
B: Because there is only one me.
C: You made sure of that.
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© Copyright Heather Graham, all rights reserved. The script may not be
reproduced, translated or copied in any medium, including books, CDs and on
the Internet, without written permission of the author.
This play may be performed free of charge, on the condition that copies are
not sold for profit in any medium, nor any entrance fee charged. In exchange
for free performance, the author would appreciate being notified of when and
for what purpose the play is performed. She may be contacted at: heathereliza@verizon.net