At Altitude

Letter 4553

On a journey, I awaken by an alpine lake. Water lapping gently at a gravel shore.

I was here before, and will be again. It is a favorite waypoint.

Is it the soothing water that draws me? The mist over the lake?

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Or is it simply the altitude? Up here, a day’s journey toward the peaks, I feel closer to you, Lord.

Must I know why? Let me take pleasure in this moment of peace.

Consider:

Can I be grateful for peace without trying to understand it?

Reading:

❖ “There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, / There is a rapture on the lonely shore,” — Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

❖ “He may well be loved, but not thought. By love may He be gotten and holden; but by thought never.” — Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing

❖ “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:7 (KJV)

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

~B.R.

My Heart

Letter 4552

What has my heart been trying to tell me?

Is there more that I must do? Less? This small voice has been murmuring into my ear, and I cannot hear its words. And yet it insists.

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Lord, grant that your signs become clear. My vision is clouded, my hearing faint, and I easily mistake a yes for a no. Deliver me a bright sign.

Let me hear what my heart has been trying to tell me.

Consider:

Can I try more carefully to discern your will for me today?

Reading:

❖ “If your mind dislike anything, obey it.” — William Shakespeare, Hamlet

❖ “That we need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment,” — Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

❖ “And after the fire a still small voice.” — 1 Kings 19:12 (KJV)

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

~B.R.

Who Knocks?

Letter 4551

Who knocks? Few visit this place. The noise startles. Am I to bar the door in fear?

The lone visitor may bring news and gifts. They may be a refugee, weary from their march.

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They may be pursued.

Let me welcome those whom I may initially fear.

Consider:

Can I welcome all today?

Reading:

❖ “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” — John Donne, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions

❖ “As soon as a guest is announced, therefore, let the Superior or the brethren meet him with all charitable service.” — St. Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict

❖ “I was a stranger, and ye took me in:” — Matthew 25:35 (KJV)

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

~B.R.

Small Acceptance

Letter 4550

The floods came, and I accepted the reality of what they wrought: there was no choice. I could not turn away the water.

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Today, a small thing vexes me and against it I struggle. Yet am I not equally powerless against the unfolding of small things as calamitous?

Let me accept the reality of all your ways, Lord.

Consider:

Can I accept what unfolds today?

Reading:

❖ “They also serve who only stand and wait.” — John Milton, On His Blindness

❖ “A disappointment, a contradiction, a harsh word, an annoyance, a wrong received and endured as in His presence, is worth more than a long prayer;” — François Fénelon, Daily Strength for Daily Needs

❖ “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” — Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

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

~B.R.