Dear friends,
Everyday we need some seeds of hope planted in our life's garden. We need a felt sense that there is growth possible.
For us to flourish, we need the assurance that our days are heading towards the light and good. We need the intuition that our life's shadows will yet make way for dappled light through the trees.
When we trust the ways of beauty at work in life, life seems to get better. In all our days there is a chance that life can surprise us with joy which overcomes our plants like rain. Like the constantly receptive shrub, we must open ourselves in our longing and - waiting - we may yet still receive.
There are winters of our lives when the leaves appear to drop and we are very present to the challenge of survival. Thriving can seem far off. Yet it is in those short sharp days of winter that deeper connections can be made which prepare the way for spring to do its restoring work.
Whichever season we find ourselves in, pausing is a skill worth practicing. Busyness creeps up on us like a weed issue in a somewhat forgotten garden.
Pausing in the midst of the noise of daily events and commitments, we do well to take a long loving look back at the major seasons of our life.
Taking a bird's eye view across the seasons of our life, the following questions may aid reflection. Discard if not.
When has my life been like autumn (fall)? When did the leaves go golden and begin to drop? What times of my life prepared me for the future in all its joys and sufferings?
When has my life been like winter? When did life get colder and survival instincts kick in? When did hope and promise appear hidden from my view? How did I keep the fire of life burning even in fear and challenge?
When has my life been like the spring? When was I overcome with many possibilities? When did I see myself flourish most? When were the flowers of my life most beautiful and fragrant?
When was my life like summer? When did I luxuriate in the warmth and light of good things? When did I know rightness, ease and peace deep to my bones? When was I most grateful?
Below the surface of these questions, I find hope in a context of faith. It is my belief that in the long run life gets better because in the gospels "fullness of life" is promised (John 10:10). That assurance was helpful to me in winters of my life when spring was a distant memory.
In our wedding vows, my wife and I named how we promised "to walk together towards fullness of life in God's presence". I promised to do all I can to build up the conditions for fullness of life in her, and to seek to do that in myself.
Recently I put together some prayer poems as a response to life and reading the book Encounters with Silence by Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner. These intimate prayer poems, found below, refer to God as "You", as Rahner does within his slim volume.
 |
A$5.00 A$4.00
Your Fruit and Your Light
I began writing this short work of prayer-poems with a desire to write after prayer. You may find a helpful word or... Read more |
Throughout this short booklet Your Fruit and Your Light, I commend hope by relating with God with the intimate address "You". As the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber wrote in I and Thou, the I-You relationship is far more personal and profound than the I-It relationship of transaction and distance. Here's a sample:
You, who brighten the darkness.
You, who care for me in my fear.
You, who open your heart to my calling.
You, who console me when I am in need.
You, who send peace to my mind.
You, who kindle hope within my hands.
You, who praise and honour me.
You, who love me more than I can understand.
You, who bring me life, life, life!
You, who walk with me at all times.
You, who seek my good in all things.
You, who speak tenderly to me of freedom.
You, who support me when I fall.
You, who counsel me to go gently.
You, who lead me in the silence.
You, who send me with courage.
You, who live within my soul.
You, who bless me from on high.
Purchase a digital copy of Your Fruit and Your Light here at this link.
If you'd like to give feedback, simply reply to this email.
Until next time, I send warm greetings,
James
Cover Photo by Donna Brown on unsplash
