Challenging times

When There Are No Words…

Nothing more to be said or written. What is there to do when it seems there are no more words? What happens when the cries and pleas of those in need are ignored? When ears are deaf, and eyes are blind to the underlying angst and pain? When shaking heads do not cease to shake and wonder, “Why?”

Discord, disparity, outrage, and disbelief build to the beaten down, and the rhythm utters, “Too much! Too much!” Yet, in some places, perhaps in pockets unseen or not noticed, the tide is slowly turning. Faith, courage, and wisdom are building from a whisper, and the voice of Truth is coming, “Enough! Enough!”

Oftentimes, whether they are good or bad times, happy or sad, the most powerful thing is to step back and allow oneself to be filled with the Breath of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, in memory and honor of all that was, that is, and that will be. For standing firm in the loving presence of God, makes it possible to stand firm with peace and knowledge in one’s heart and mind, and provides the strength to forge ahead.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Saviour
                                 – Matt Crocker, Joel Houston & Salomon Ligthelm
from Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

Pentecost2020

O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray. – excerpt Veni Sancte Spiritus

OMG…

Challenged to see beyond this dreadful thing, the ups and downs around it, and the many other “less than” that exist, as we attempt to rise to the occasion, buds continue to bloom and trees begin to fill in as leaves start to grow. Eggs hatch, and first steps, or first swims, carry on.  And as babies become toddlers, the continuum of childhood through adulthood is undisturbed… not deterred, as we all grow, in ways that may differ, or sometimes be the same.

In the face of COVID-19, the precious and the chosen remain, both in this life, and in eternal life. Amid days, leading to months of uncertainty at the hands of this pandemic, lie the new and the renewed at the hands of the Almighty, through the hearts of humanity… and all things living.

“As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”  Glory be to God.

OLife

O Me! O Life! – by Walt Whitman

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.