To Work

Letter 4348

I was waiting for a view of my next step, yet the shed needs repair now.

I stood looking into the distance. The hills did not hand me a hammer.

Must I see the whole path before I walk?

Let me get to work, Lord.


Consider:

Can I act without overthinking?


Reading:

❖ “The best way out is always through.” — Robert Frost

❖ “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe

❖ “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” — Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV)


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

~B.R.

Placed

Letter 4347

You have plucked me up and set me down in a place of beauty.

Look at the way this room fits together. Wood worn smooth. Polished stone.

I misjudge the world. I look for a hammer, certain there are nails waiting somewhere.

Then which is better, the flower or the table? The polished mantle or the oak stair rail?

What use is beauty, I cry, if my hand holds no tool?

The day waits as a gift. No repairs today.

Let me sit here with you, Lord, empty-handed and surrounded by light.


Consider:

Can I accept your gifts of beauty?


Reading:

❖ “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” — Kahlil Gibran

❖ “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” — W. B. Yeats

❖ “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11 (KJV)


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

~B.R.

The Lantern

Letter 4346

I brought a lantern on my walk. Fog had settled thick across the field. The light pushed outward only a short way before it dissolved into gray.

I strained to see what lay beyond it. The path vanished after a few paces. What waits beyond the edge of light?

The lantern did not promise the whole field, only enough ground for the next step.

How far must I see before I walk?

Let me trust the light you give, even when it reaches only a little way.


Consider:

Can I walk forward into the unseen?


Reading:

❖ “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.” — Rabindranath Tagore

❖ “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” — Socrates

❖ “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” — Psalm 119:105 (KJV)


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

~B.R.

Together

Letter 4345

My neighbors and me. Dwellings crowded by a crossroads. We are together on this earth, for this time.

Yet we were not born together, nor will we die together. Our paths intertwine, but in the end the ways are separate.

How can I then know these strangers by whom I live?

I see them along the path at dusk. I know the sound of their boots.

They carry burdens and fears I cannot see. Some whisper prayers behind closed doors. Some do not.

Let me live together with these familiar strangers.


Consider:

Can I love even those I do not fully know?


Reading:

❖ “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” — Frederick Buechner

❖ “Community is not about perfection; it is about belonging.” — Parker J. Palmer

❖“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God.” — 1 John 4:7 (KJV)


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

~B.R.