Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but
still nothing is as shining as it should be
for you. Under the sink, for example, is an
uproar of mice.It is the season of their
many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves
and through the walls the squirrels
have gnawed their ragged entrances but it is the season
when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And
the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard
while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow;
what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling
in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly
up the path, to the door. And still I believe you will
come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox,
the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know
that really I am speaking to you whenever I say,
as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.
still nothing is as shining as it should be
for you. Under the sink, for example, is an
uproar of mice.It is the season of their
many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves
and through the walls the squirrels
have gnawed their ragged entrances but it is the season
when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And
the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard
while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow;
what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling
in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly
up the path, to the door. And still I believe you will
come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox,
the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know
that really I am speaking to you whenever I say,
as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.
‘Making the house ready for the Lord’
Mary Oliver
I am pretty rubbish at being still and silent in the presence of a jobs list, seven of which seem to be mushrooming on my kitchen worktop next to the kettle as I write. Although today I feel like I a wading through treacle, the things which I ‘ought’ to do shout at me, utterly drowning out the things I want to do. The possibility of discerning which of the things God might want me to do seems eternally distant. And when it is unlikely that more than one thing will be crossed off one list today, if that, I remind myself to recognise that opportunities are mushrooming here too.
Can I sit still and silent as everyone else rushes endlessly around me?
Can I give the person next to me the attention for which her soul cries out, even for a few moments?
And what of the things and people not on my jobs list, which and who don’t even make it to my prayer list? How on earth can I treasure them?
I shall stand for love,
even with a broken soul,
even with a heavy heart.
even with a broken soul,
even with a heavy heart.
I shall stand for love,
for the world is wounded.
Not just my little piece of land,
where I am mostly safe,
where I am mostly well,
but our world, everywhere.
Every day.
for the world is wounded.
Not just my little piece of land,
where I am mostly safe,
where I am mostly well,
but our world, everywhere.
Every day.
I shall stand for love,
because we need more light,
not more deaths,
not more power,
not more bombs.
because we need more light,
not more deaths,
not more power,
not more bombs.
I shall stand for love,
so that our children are safe,
so that our friends are sheltered,
so that our borders are open.
so that our children are safe,
so that our friends are sheltered,
so that our borders are open.
I shall stand for love,
even with a broken soul,
even with a heavy heart.
even with a broken soul,
even with a heavy heart.
‘For Love’
Dorothy Oger
really I am speaking to you. iPhone image.
No comments:
Post a Comment