Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child

Arranged by Moses Hogan; Sung by KIrstin Roble; Mary Kay Burton, piano

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,

A long way(s) from home, a long way(s) from home.

(sometimes the following words are added at the end of each verse; they are not included in our recording:)

Then I get down on my knees and pray, get down on my knees and pray.

Sometimes I feel like I’m almost gone,

Sometimes I feel like I’m almost gone,

Sometimes I feel like I’m almost gone,

A long way(s) from home, a long way(s) from home.

Then I get down on my knees and pray, get down on my knees and pray.

You don’t have to be a child to feel “motherless” or “a long way from home.” There are many who are literally motherless and homeless, and beyond that - dislocated and lost. Our journey during Lent is to acknowledge this reality - that “sometimes I feel like I’m almost gone.” Fed up. Done. Enough. Can’t take it anymore. Almost gone. By yourself on the road of life with no home in sight.This is a common human experience, if we are honest with ourselves. Sometimes we all feel like motherless children. The question is: how do we respond when we are lost and disconnected from family or all that is familiar. What do we do?

The spiritual writer points us in a good direction: “I get down on my knees and pray. In other words, I turn to God. I turn to God because God is our eternal home, our mother and father. If we try other approaches, they may not be the best for us. Some will turn to drugs, sex, money, or other fleeting activities. When we are lost, we can only be found by God and in God. When you feel “motherless” and “almost gone” -- without a rudder to steer yourself, get down on your knees and pray. Let God find you, lift you up, and help you steer your ship.

Prayer for the Day:

Lord, sometimes I feel alone and lost in the wilderness of this world. Motherless. Homeless. Ready to give up. I get down on my knees and pray: “Find me, Lord, and lead me back home to you. This day, and every day. Amen.

From Luke A. Powery: “Were You There - Lenten Reflections on the Spirituals”

John Knox Press, Louisville, KY. 2019

Used by permission of the author.