Ruth's Prayer

As many of you know, I tend to buy music on iTunes frequently. I have become much better at keeping that in check because the bill can pile up quickly.

But one thing I love to do is peruse the music on iTunes. Call it my version of window shopping.

I noticed that a soundtrack came out early prior to the release of the movie "Billy: The Early Years" - a movie about Billy Graham. Most of it was gospel but one song really struck me and touched my heart.

It's based on a poem that Ruth Bell Graham wrote at the age of 13 about the man she wanted to marry one day. Country singer Alan Jackson put it to music and it's gorgeous. The words alone are beautiful. It boggles my mind a 13-year-old wrote it.

The song is called "Ruth's Prayer" by Patty Griffin and I strongly recommend listening to it. But in the meantime, here's the poem taken from Ruth Bell Graham's Collected Poems, page 35 (Baker Publishing Group, December 1997).

Dear God, I prayed, all unafraid
(as we’re inclined to do),
I do not need a handsome man
but let him be like You;
I do not need one big and strong
nor yet so very tall,
nor need he be some genius,
or wealthy, Lord, at all;
but let his head be high, dear God,
and let his eye be clear,
his shoulders straight, whate’er his state,
whate’er his earthly sphere;
and let his face have character,
a ruggedness of soul,
and let his whole life show, dear God,
a singleness of goal;
then when he comes
(as he will come)
with quiet eyes aglow,
I’ll understand that he’s the man
I prayed for long ago.