l (a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness…
~e.e. cummings
So many feel they are the only one
to fall
until they land in a cushion of others
comforted.
Some dangle suspended
twisting and turning in the slightest breeze
not knowing when the fall will come.
I know I’m both~
one alone
and many together
held by a slender silken thread
until the moment comes
when I’m let go.
Was there a moment, known only to God, when all the stars held their breath,
when the galaxies paused in their dance for a fraction of a second,
and the Word, who had called it all into being,
went with all his love into the womb of a young girl,
and the universe started to breathe again,and the ancient harmonies resumed their song,
and the angels clapped their hands for joy?
Power. Greater power than we can imagine,
abandoned, as the Word knew the powerlessness of the unborn child,
still unformed, taking up almost no space in the great ocean of amniotic fluid,
unseeing, unhearing, unknowing.
Slowly growing, as any human embryo grows, arms and legs and a head, eyes, mouth, nose,
slowly swimming into life until the ocean in the womb is no longer large enough,
and it is time for birth.
Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity,
Christ, the Maker of the universe or perhaps many universes,
willingly and lovingly leaving all that power
and coming to this poor, sin-filled planet to live with us for a few years
to show us what we ought to be and could be.
Christ came to us as Jesus of Nazareth, wholly human and wholly divine,
to show us what it means to be made in God’s image.
~Madeline L’Engle from Bright Evening Star
It’s the season of grace coming out of the void
Where a man is saved by a voice in the distance
It’s the season of possible miracle cures
Where hope is currency and death is not the last unknown
Where time begins to fade
And age is welcome home
It’s the season of eyes meeting over the noise
And holding fast with sharp realization
It’s the season of cold making warmth a divine intervention
You are safe here you know now
Don’t forget
Don’t forget I love
I love
I love you
It’s the season of scars and of wounds in the heart
Of feeling the full weight of our burdens
It’s the season of bowing our heads in the wind
And knowing we are not alone in fear
Not alone in the dark
Don’t forget
Don’t forget I love
I love
I love you
~Vienna Teng “The Atheist Christmas Carol”
There is no longer a void or darkness upon the face of the deep. The stars need no longer to hold their breath.
Instead Grace has come in the face of Jesus the Son, through God the Father who moves among us, His Spirit changing everything, now and always.
Do not be afraid.
You are not alone in the dark.
You are loved.
Don’t forget.
Here, on this surge of hill, I find myself
not as I am or will be or once was,
not as the measure of days defines my soul;
beyond all that a being of breath and bone,
partaker of wind and sun and air and earth,
I stand on the surge of hill and know myself
Below, the stars sink landward, and above
I breathe with their slow glimmer; fields are gone,
the woods are fallen into the speechless dark;
no claim, no voice, no motion, no demand.
It is alone we end then and alone
we go, creatures of solitary light;
the finger of truth is laid upon my heart:
See and be wise and unafraid, a part
of stars and earth-wind and the deepening night.
~Jane Clement
I don’t do alone well. Never have. I’ve always preferred plenty of activity around me, planning gatherings, and filling days to the brim. Very little of my day is spent by myself and I designed it that way. But once in a while there comes a time when I must quiet myself, be still, and simply be, with no agenda. With our children grown and gone, this is happening more often than I prefer even though the love of my life and I often commute to work together, eat meals together, spend our evenings and nights together. It is just so much … quieter now. So quiet.
Typically I don’t prefer my own company but I’m slowly learning the lessons of spending time alone. There is no glossing over my flaws nor distracting myself from where I fall short. Alone is an unforgiving mirror reflecting back what I have kept myself too busy to see. It is going beyond all that a being of breath and bone can become.
Slowly but surely I sit within my own skin more comfortably, gaze out through 62 year old eyes attached to an over-capacity brain and begin to appreciate thinking random uninterrupted thoughts as they occur to me, as the finger of truth is laid upon my heart.
I might even decide I’m fit company for myself. Maybe someday. Probably not today.
Anyone up for a cup of coffee?
My treat.
I’m out here in the dusk…
There is no one home but me—
and I’m not at home; I’m up here on the hill,
looking at the dark windows below.
Let them be dark…
…night has silenced
the last loud rupture of the calm.
~Jane Kenyon from “Frost Flowers”
All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.
~Blaise Pascal
I don’t do alone well. Never have. I’ve always preferred plenty of activity around me, planning gatherings, and filling days to the brim. Very little of my days is spent by myself and I designed it that way. But once in a while there comes a time when I must quiet myself, be still, and simply be, with no agenda. With our children grown and gone, this is happening more often than I prefer even though the love of my life and I commute to work together, eat meals together, spend our evenings and nights together. It is just so much … quieter now. So quiet.
Typically I don’t prefer my own company. I would rather be around those who are positive and encouraging yet when alone I’ll grouse and complain to myself. There is no glossing over my flaws nor distracting myself from where I fall short. Alone is an unforgiving mirror reflecting back what I have kept myself too busy to see.
Slowly but surely I will learn to sit within my own skin more comfortably, gaze out through 58 year old eyes attached to an over-capacity brain and begin to appreciate thinking random uninterrupted thoughts as they occur to me. I might even decide I’m fit company for myself. Maybe someday. Probably not today.
Anyone up for a cup of coffee?
My treat.
Barnstorming 