Why and How

Letter 4477

As I walk and walk these lands — what drives me to do so?

As I daily devote these hours to you, Lord — what drives me?

It is not desperation that impels me to walk so far, nor grasping for something found at the end of the journey.

Nor is it mere habit that drives me to my front room each morning to think on you and write of what I find.

❖

You are never far, I need only draw near, or try to, and you lean back in my direction.

These are my devotions, Lord, which draw me near to you.

Let me draw near.

Consider:

Can I draw nearer to you today?

Reading:

❖ “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” — Augustine, Confessions

❖ “We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit.” — A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

❖ “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” — James 4:8 (KJV)

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

~B.R.

Back Into the Land

Letter 4476

I built a path through my garden, winding from the gate to the shed. I used a series of paving stones to create a steady walkway. This was just last month.

Today, already: explosive growth between the stones. It is as if they had been there for years, growing into the landscape.

Do I pull the weeds between the pavers? Or do I love the naturalness?

❖

Lord, let me see the miracle when you accept my humble offering into your lands.

Consider:

Can I accept forces greater than myself today?

Reading:

❖ “And for all this, nature is never spent; / There lives the dearest freshness deep down things.” — Gerard Manley Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur”

❖ “By means of all created things, without exception, the divine assails us, penetrates us and moulds us.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu

❖ “…and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself…” — Mark 4:27–28 (KJV)

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

~B.R.

Washed Clean

Letter 4475

A trickle, a stream, a river — water coursing through the land. Is the water in the creek I dip into the same as the lake, the rain?

All is washed clean, bit by bit and drop by drop. Sometimes in a rush of flood.

❖

Let me be washed clean, too, Lord. Let me abandon myself to your stream.

Consider:

Can I let go?

Reading:

❖ “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” — Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

❖ “Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will… I offer it to you with all the love of my heart… with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.” — Charles de Foucauld, Prayer of Abandonment

❖ “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean…” — Ezekiel 36:25 (KJV)

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

~B.R.

Without Staring

Letter 4474

A fresh morning, approaching my garden. There are weeds to be pulled and rows to be dug, but most of it grows well.

Can I see the flaws, looking clearly without staring?

What is the story I will tell? A story of shortcoming and work to repair it? A story of great success?

Can I give a true account that accepts both?

❖

Let me walk through this day with equanimity, Lord, accepting all that is, without additional judgment.

Consider:

Can I accept your day?

Reading:

❖ “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same…” — Rudyard Kipling, “If—”

❖ “Acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved.” — Seraphim of Sarov

❖ “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” — Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)

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

~B.R.