Always toward freedom.

It is like I am hanging from a rock face. So many ways up, yet the exertion feels so large. I am tempted to give up. The fall always waits.

If I let go, and choose despair, I have traded the uncertainty of freedom for the certainty of failure.

❖

Let me keep climbing, Lord, glad of the handholds and ledges. There is rest even here, if I look carefully at what is before me.

– from the mountain

Consider:

Can I keep climbing, even when uncertain?

Reading:

“Something in me stretches to meet the mountain. The struggle itself is the path.”

— Nan Shepherd

❖

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

— Rabindranath Tagore

❖

“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.”

— Psalm 112:7 (KJV)

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Let us, together.

Stone by stone, brick by brick, limb by limb.

Do I describe a burden borne? The materials of a home?

❖

Walking the lakeside, calling to my fellows, who will follow?

Let us build together.

– from the mountain

Consider:

Can I make ready to build?

Reading:

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller

❖

“Where there is no shared vision, no house can stand.” — Howard Thurman

❖

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.” — 1 Peter 2:5 (KJV)

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Welcome them, for one never knows.

A visitor came, a traveler on a journey. They saw my dwelling, high and lonesome, when they needed shelter.

The knock frightened me, coming as it did in the gathering dusk.

What courage it must have taken to approach! My only act was to open the door, which I did with reluctance. How could I have done more to bring cheer?

❖

An encounter with another could well be an encounter with you, Lord. All meetings can be communion.

Let me live so, Lord.

– from the mountain

Consider:

Can I be as welcoming as I ought?

Reading:

“Every stranger who knocks at the door is an opportunity to meet ourselves.” — Kahlil Gibran

❖

“Let your heart be a refuge for all beings.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

❖

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” — Hebrews 13:2 (KJV)

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Of all sorts.

We sought to build a straight road, but it became a switchback tangle. The terrain did not allow an easy path.

I sought to become strong, but I became injured and had to learn self-care and rest.

The way to growth is in a direction I do not expect. A miracle is a response outside of what I could imagine.

❖

I live in a time of growth and miracles, Lord, let me make ready for them.

– from the mountain

Consider:

Can I become ready for today’s miracles?

Reading:

“Your path is at your feet whether you realize it or not.” — Lao Tzu

❖

“Miracles come quietly, all at once, when the mind has stopped insisting on its own way.” — Henri Nouwen

❖

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” — Isaiah 43:19 (KJV)

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