I knelt in prayer—my heart reached out
to know what Love was all about.
Unselfish—I once thought that's for me,
this is the quality that I should be;
I'll help to care for those in need
and hungry souls I'll gladly feed.
I proudly set myself the task
of serving all who would just ask;
So Martha-like was I in giving
that often burdened was my living.
I knew unselfishness was right,
but still I needed further light.
I prayed anew, more humbly now,
to lift off self and thus allow
pure Love divine to be my being—
my thoughts, my words, my very seeing.
Then gently came a higher view:
Unselfish thinks of "me" and "you"—
involving self, it gets worn out;
self-tinged, it causes seeds of doubt.
But unselfed love's another thing
and only blessings it can bring:
God's selfhood wholly fills the scene
where mortal man before had been,
not problems, persons, things, and places.
But God alone loves and embraces.
Unselfish is a steppingstone
to unselfed love and God alone.
I rose from prayer, Love's self revealed,
and joyously, I stepped forth healed.
