Standing

Letter 4445

I cannot forever stand against your will for me, though I may mulishly push on your tide. The water rises, then falls, then rises.

❖

Instead of trying to guide the river, let me stand still and let the current flow around me. Neighbors and joy will come to visit, drawn by the current, and I will greet them one by one.

Consider:

Can I stand still?

Reading:

❖ “Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant.” — Seneca, Letters to Lucilius (107.11, quoting Cleanthes)

❖ “We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them.” — Simone Weil, Waiting for God

❖ “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD.” — Exodus 14:13 (KJV)

Thank you for for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

The Heat

Letter 4444

The heat has caused the meadow grass to go brown, the plants to wither.

When I go to the village and walk the square, my neighbors shuffle from side to side, slowly moving under a sun that has become oppressive.

The animals stay inside. My shades remain drawn.

❖

The heat will break. The rains will come. The deluge will cool the land, and we will look to the skies, mouths open, tongues out to taste the relief.

Even while under this lash, I know conditions will change. Let me make ready.

Consider:

Can I anticipate the change that I hope for?

Reading:

❖ “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” — Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind

❖ “The present moment is always full of infinite treasure. It contains far more than you can possibly grasp.” — Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence

❖ “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” — 1 Kings 18:41 (KJV)

Thank you for for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

Sunrise!

Letter 4443

The light spreads over the land, from horizon to meadow to bedroom window.

It quickens, it brings joy, it brightens.

❖

What more could I add to this land, Lord? How dare I think I could build upon perfection?

Let me drink in the sunrise.

Consider:

Can I accept and enjoy the beauty around me?

Reading:

❖ “Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who make the morning and spread it over the fields… Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.” — Mary Oliver, “Why I Wake Early”

❖ “You never enjoy the world aright, till the Sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens, and crowned with the stars.” — Thomas Traherne, Centuries of Meditations

❖ “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” — Genesis 1:31 (KJV)

Thank you for for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

True Devotion

Letter 4442

I had chores to do but instead sat at length thinking of you, Lord. You occupied my mind well into the day.

Should I punish myself over an untidy porch? Or be proud of my piety?

❖

Perhaps there is another way, where I experience true devotion and it is not part of any measure, only the warmth of seeking to be near you.

Consider:

Can I seek to be nearer to you today?

Reading:

❖ “I circle around God, around the primordial tower. / I’ve been circling for thousands of years, / and I still don’t know: am I a falcon, / a storm, or a great song?” — Rainer Maria Rilke, The Book of Hours (I, 2; tr. Barrows & Macy)

❖ “The reason for loving God is God himself, and the measure, is to love without measure.” — Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God

❖ “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” — Luke 10:41–42 (KJV)

Thank you for for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.