He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.
Mark 5:41-43
Little girl. Old girl. Old boy.
Old boys and girls with high blood pressure and arthritis,
and young boys and girls with tattoos and body piercing.
You who believe, and you who sometimes believe
and sometimes don’t believe much of anything,
and you who would give almost anything to believe
if only you could.
You happy ones and you who can hardly remember
what it was like once to be happy.
You who know where you’re going and how to get there
and you who much of the time aren’t sure you’re getting anywhere.
“Get up,” he says, all of you – all of you!
– and the power that is in him is the power to give life
not just to the dead like the child,
but to those who are only partly alive,
which is to say to people like you and me
who much of the time live with our lives closed
to the wild beauty and miracle of things,
including the wild beauty and miracle
of every day we live
and even of ourselves.
~Frederick Buechner from Secrets in the Dark
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And I gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.
~Mary Oliver “I Worried” from Swan: Poems and Prose Poems
Christ said to the dead girl, “Get up.” And she did.
He also tells us to get up, get moving – despite everything that holds us back.
I know there are times when I feel immobilized from tiredness, worry, hopelessness, fear. I hear His reminder: get up and go anyway.
God has given us a world of wild beauty and miraculous things;
time to get up and take our place in it.
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Barnstorming 
Emily,This is a wonderful reminder today — via some of my favorite wise ones (Buechner and Oliver – and you!). I can often feel immobilized by some feeling or situation in my life. It is good to remember the words “Get Up!” Get up and go anyway!! — in spite of all that might pull me back into the illusion of the safe, soft chair of “giving up.” I will remember these words today.
Sometimes when I am feeling immobilized by some feeling (such as anxiety), I will ask myself, “What would I be doing if I didn’t feel anxious (or other feeling)?” – and then I try to “get up” and do that thing. (of course I try not to override important feelings that need to be addressed).
Blessed Sabbath~ Donna
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This is really powerful. Thank you.
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