Pawanak Wela Enna

Come as a breeze into my life, my Lord,
and soothe away the distress of my life
come as a flowing stream into my life, my Lord,
and quench away the thirst of my life
come as a meal into my life, my Lord,
and still the hunger of my life
come as a lamp into my life, my Lord,
and wipe out the thick darkness of my life

You are the Lord who lays me down on green pastures,
you are the oar that guards me in the deep waters
grant me to come and take my rest
sorrow and joy, victory and defeat, all resting in your shade,
O my dear Lord

You are the mother who comforts when the world leaves me alone,
you are the kind word that wipes the tears from my eyes
grant me to come and take my rest
sorrow and joy, victory and defeat, all resting in your shade,
O my dear Lord

This is a hymn that asks God to become exactly what the singer most needs, in one plain, beautiful list. Each line names a lack and asks God to fill it by “coming” in a fitting form: “come as a breeze and soothe the distress,” “come as a flowing stream and quench the thirst,” “come as a meal and still the hunger,” “come as a lamp and wipe out the thick darkness.” Whatever the ache, breeze for restlessness, water for thirst, food for hunger, light for the dark, God is invited to be the answer.

The middle verse leans on the beloved twenty-third Psalm. “You are the Lord who lays me down on green pastures”, the Shepherd who makes his sheep lie down in safety, and “the oar that guards me in the deep waters,” steering the soul through danger. And the request is simply for rest, to come and lie down in God, letting “sorrow and joy, victory and defeat, all rest in your shade.”

The final verse gathers up the most tender human comfort of all: “you are the mother who comforts when the world leaves me alone, the kind word that wipes the tears from my eyes.” When human company fails, God is the mother who stays. What the listener is left with is a picture of God as complete provision, breeze, stream, bread, lamp, shepherd, oarsman and mother all at once, and a heart that asks for nothing complicated, only to come, and rest, in the shade of a Lord who meets its every need.