In the darkest night
it is not possible to believe
that light will come.
Because light has come before,
doesn’t mean it will again.
Hold faith tonight
for those who see the darkness
stretch before them -
who know no other truth than that -
whose barren-ness prevails,
who are buffeted by despair,
who cannot breathe for fear.
Join your prayer to God’s:
let there be light.
“It has to be dark for the stars to appear” (unknown)
(Picture: Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes)
Sit down
Let go
Breathe in deep
Exhale slow
Unclench
Unwind
Ease up
Free the mind
No rules
No goal
Light heart
Quiet soul
Spoil the child
Spare the rod
Give up
Rest in God
(Julie Palestrina)
(Picture: Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes)
I ask for the gift
of a moment
to sit by Your side
The work that I have in hand
I can finish afterwards.
Now it is time to sit quiet
alone with You
and to Sing
a re-dedication of my life
in this Silent
and overflowing joy.
(Rabindranath Tagore)
A poem for Monday.
If you are already clutching your ‘to do’ list and wondering how you will make it through the week then this is for you – ask for the gift of a moment 
Picture is ‘rhythm of the tides’ by Jonny Baker on Flickr
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
(Wendell Berry)
There is something wonderfully comforting about this poem – despair and fear give way to peace, grace and freedom in a few short verses. Perspective is good
Picture is ‘flight from above’ by Jonny Baker on Flickr
Today – a short quotation from Rabindranath Tagore
I thought that my voyage had come to its end at the last limit of my power – that the path before me was closed, that provisions were exhausted and the time come to take shelter in silent obscurity. But I find that Thy will knows no end in me. And when old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders.
Seemed appropriate for January… and hopeful for those who have reached the end of their rope!
Photo is “beyond” by Jonny Baker on Flickr
Last year was a difficult one and I really lost momentum – not just with the blogging.
So to get me back into blogging, here is a beautiful piece called “The Singing of Angels” by Howard Thurman – some last echoes of Christmastime:
There must be always
remaining in every life,
some place for the singing of angels.
Some place for that
which in itself
is breathless and
beautiful.
Old burdens become lighter
deep and ancient wounds
lose much of their old hurting.
Despite all the crassness of life,
all the hardness and
harsh discords,
life is saved by
the singing of angels.
(Source: The Mood of Christmas from inward/outward)
Picture is “stained glass angel” by Laura Grisham.
The trading of joy comes naturally because it is of the nature of joy to proclaim and share itself. Joy cannot contain itself, as we say. It overflows.
Frederick Buechner
This was this morning’s thought from inward/outward, and it came through just as I was thinking about the worship theme for this coming Sunday (yes I am starting back to work at last).
I was thinking about recognition and how we all need to be recognised, appreciated and loved. And I was reminded of this wonderful short film, part of which I am hoping to show on Sunday morning.
So if you have a dose of the Monday morning blues – then grab a coffee, put your feet up and watch this – I guarantee it will make you smile
“Those who are in a hurry delay the things of God”.
(St. Vincent de Paul)
Photo is ‘staines’ by Jonny Baker on Flickr
A snatch of liturgy for Friday from Cheryl at holdthisspace… posted for everyone who is having a difficult time at the moment… hold tight
battle-scarred and tired
we watch you lift yourself
again
into the hardness of today
the cliches sit on the edge of our
tongue
left unspoken
in respect for their futility
and your new hard won wisdom
hold tight
we whisper
a prayer for ourselves
as much as you
hold tight
(Picture was taken by no1 daughter of no2 daughter at Culzean Castle park)
I never willed
these forty days
in the wilderness,
tempted by
the demons
of accustomed scars.
But no other way
leads home.
Nancy Compton Williams (found at inward/outward)
Photo is ‘Travelling through the Chihuahua desert’ by : Sylvia Stuurman en Ernst Anepool.
