My Psalm 123

I lift up my eyes to you,
King of heaven.
As a slave looks to his master for cues,
as a maid looks to her mistress for clues,
to respond instantly to the slightest opportunity for service,
so my eyes look to you, LORD God,
until you favor me with your smile.

Show me your favor, Lord,
for I've been kicked around,
talked about,
betrayed and abandoned
enough.
Amen.

(painting by Aaron Collier, professor of painting at Tulane University in New Orleans, one of a series on the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120-134) he completed in 2007).