I know this sound, first birds of morning.
As a child, I waited for hours for the drape
of night to roll up again. Leaning into the first
hint of the fresh day, the fragile lace of hesitant
light, the receding darkness dappled with bird song,
able at last to close my eyes.
I know this sound, some kind of redemption,
waking me from scattered sleep, a healing fragment
even as the work of the previous day marks my bones
in notches. Night leaves its small fur as the dawn
pushes, as the birds persist, and morning unfurls
like a promise you hoped someone would keep.
~Susan Moorhead “First Light” from Carry Darkness, Carry Light
The grace of God means something like:
“Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you.
Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you.”
There’s only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you’ll reach out and take it.
Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.
~Frederick Buechner from Wishful Thinking
Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by your name;
you are mine.
When you walk through the waters,
I’ll be with you;
you will never sink beneath the waves.
When the fire is burning all around you,
you will never be consumed by the flames.
When the fear of loneliness is looming,
then remember I am at your side.
When you dwell in the exile of a stranger,
remember you are precious in my eyes.
You are mine, O my child,
I am your Father,
and I love you with a perfect love.
~Gerard Markland “Do Not Be Afraid”
When I open my eyes in the morning
I depend on the promise of a new day
reminding me of hope and grace.
But if the unexpected terrible thing happens–
when beauty seems to hide its face,
I fear it is gone forever.
Yet, promises are kept:
in Words written
again and again and again,
-365 times in total-
once for every day of the year:
if only I can truly believe them,
if only I can reassure others so
they reach out and take them to heart
He is here, with us,
in this broken, too often terrible, world-
do not be afraid
do not be afraid
do not be afraid
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Barnstorming 
Omygosh I needed this today! My daughter was in a car accident, someone hit her from the side and knocked her into oncoming traffic and she hit a truck head-on. She is alive, she probably has a year of recovery ahead and multiple surgeries. After four immediate family deaths in four years, my brain just says “it could have just happened again… it could have just happened again…” but it didn’t. My gratitude brings tears to my eyes. Fear has become this daily battle. I am preparing to go spend time with her to help, she has hospital time left and then rehab time, and an overwhelmed husband and two stunned little girls at home. Sometimes it’s a privilege to be needed, to invest in loved ones just for the joy of having them still here when they might so easily not have been. Thanks be to God – and many prayers for others who don’t have relief in their prayers.
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Hi Emily,
I’ve tried a few times to leave a comment but I don’t ever see it there. I don’t know if I am posting multiple times or not, so I thought I’d just send this comment to you directly, because this post was a word I needed so deeply right now. Here is the comment, and Thank you! -Kelley
Omygosh I needed this today! My daughter was in a car accident, someone hit her from the side and knocked her into oncoming traffic and she hit a truck head-on. She is alive, she probably has a year of recovery ahead and multiple surgeries. After four immediate family deaths in four years, my brain just says “it could have just happened again… it could have just happened again…” but it didn’t. My gratitude brings tears to my eyes. Fear has become this daily battle. I am preparing to go spend time with her to help, she has hospital time left and then rehab time, and an overwhelmed husband and two stunned little girls at home. Sometimes it’s a privilege to be needed, to invest in loved ones just for the joy of having them still here when they might so easily not have been. Thanks be to God – and many prayers for others who don’t have relief in their prayers.
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