Take a moment to contemplate this picture and then write whatever comes to you. Blessings to you on this Sabbath day!
Words of Faith
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Sunday's Bonus Prompt
The fasting and austerity that we may participate in during Lent takes a Sabbath day on Sunday. For those of you that would like the continuity of posting each day - even on Sundays - here is a bonus prompt, which on Sunday, will be only a picture:
Take a moment to contemplate this picture and then write whatever comes to you. Blessings to you on this Sabbath day!
Take a moment to contemplate this picture and then write whatever comes to you. Blessings to you on this Sabbath day!
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Sabbath Mountain Stream
ReplyDeleteShallow gurgles sing their praises
Icy chill fills a thirsty mouth now undry
Glacial river rock underlay Creators' phrases
"Be alive, be sated, be God sent, spry."
Sabbath pause allows this scene to unfold.
Mountain stream air fills mouth and nose.
Scents of cedar, hemlock, moss in the wold,
Join creations abundance that ever flows.
Lenten discipline austere, chosen clear ,
Includes sabbath breaks, graces' kiss.
Baptismal waters sprinkled on God's folk dear.
Spirit babbling, chuckling, nothing amiss.
Pack laid aside, journey at rest.
Solitude fills the scene.
Conversation breaks into silence, best.
Thoughts allowed to cascade, serene.
Creations' mighty cathedral rises all 'round.
Old growth really saplings in Creators' eyes.
Heart, mind, body, spirit catch a glimpse profound.
Natural beauty a mere hint, eternity defies.
On the sabbath, Creator rests.
Word Made Flesh pauses in fullness.
Spirit rejoices in well built nests.
Time placed on hold, allowing wellness.
Sisters, brothers practice well this gift of life.
Accept the rhythm that includes this stream.
Rush not by, shrug off burden, heal strife.
Love, mercy, compassion Creators' balmy cream.
The Rev. Ronald Allen Melver, M.Div.
17.3.13
Wash Me, and I Shall Be Whiter Than Snow. Psalm 51:7
ReplyDeleteLent is a cleansing time
like water in a stream
swiftly moving over a congregation
of all shapes of
rocks
pebbles
gold nuggets
sticks-in-the-mud
all quietly sitting, under the stream
and some even sitting on the sidelines,
watching and waiting
Lent, like water
clarifying our thoughts
our hearts
our souls
Dark and light plays
on those rock-hardened souls
Over time
40 days, to be exact
if we let ourselves be open
just like the rocks and
pebbles
gold nuggets
sticks-in-the-mud
in this stream
but, not, sadly, those sitting on the sidelines
We, too, can be molded
to God's Will
to work God's Ways
If
we can be open
to letting God in
and smoothing us over
40 days to get us ready
for the dark Week of Passion
And then
on to the Glorious Day of Resurrection!
fHs
Sara
Truth embraces wholeness. You capture the parish's reality with love, encouragement and honesty.
Deleteyour brother by/in the stream.
ps: great to walk together this season
ronaldo
I like the metaphor of God molding us like a stream or a river - gentle and often slow but always working - and the encouragement to get in the water - very nice!
DeleteGod’s Peace Filled People
ReplyDeleteJust before the water goes over the edge
Just before it hits the rocks
And goes into free fall
It seems to sit still
It seems to be especially calm
And amazingly transparent
And beautifully peaceful.
In those quiet seasons of our lives
if we can live in the moment
we can know the power of peace
and the gift of transparency.
If we have lived with peace
the rocks will not scare us
and the tumult will not make us tremble.
For the Spirit of God is carrying us home
wherever we go,
in the backwaters
through eddies, into rocks
and over the falls.
The homeward journey
of God’s peace filled people.
(I like the picture prompt)
you've created a sabbath blessing. may each day find a sabbath sanctuary to restore, refresh. stillness midst the moving stream, ah......
Deleteronaldo
Clear Streaming
ReplyDeleteBy Marlene Obie
During our last trip to Glacier Park with my daughter and granddaughter, we took one of the “red car” tours around the Park. As we were driving along a creek toward our starting point, someone asked the guide if the fishing there was good. He answered that the water was “too clear,” so it was unlikely one could catch anything in that particular area. After we had left the car, I told my daughter that I could tell by that remark that he was not from Montana.
While growing up in Montana myself, I had fished in many a clear stream with parents and siblings, and later with my husband. There was a spot on Upper Newlan Creek that looked much like this picture where I would choose to fish. My husband would look at it and insist I wouldn’t catch any fish there. He was going upstream where he saw a “real” fishing hole. Invariably, as soon as I threw my line out with the spinner dropping into the middle of the rocks, there would be a flash of silver hitting my hook, and I would have a trout.
As this memory bubbled over the pebbles in my brain, I received another silver flash. We spend a lot of time searching, worrying and praying about many problems we’re faced with and often reject simple, clear solutions. We brush off the possibility of our answers being crystal clear and right in front of us. It’s too easy. We go off to find and assess the other possibilities that we suspect are hiding under the brush. We spend hours searching for data about the art of the sport and minute details of exactly where and when to cast our worm into the water or show how expertly we can move our imitation fly around and entice the perfect specimen of a complicated action into our basket.
Sometimes we do need to do that, but perhaps before we walk downstream and get too involved, we should at least try a toss into the middle of clarity.
this moment is that opportunity. what comes of the "toss" might change the whole story. well done.
Deleteronaldo
Water Polishing
ReplyDeleteRough stones in the river, smoothed
By the hands of God.