ALL are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul;
That, changed through all, and yet in all the same,
Great in the earth, as in th’ ethereal frame,
Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze,
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees,
Lives through all life, extends through all extent,
Spreads undivided, operates unspent:
Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part;
As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart;
As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns
As the rapt Seraphim, that sings and burns:
To him no high, no low, no great, no small—
He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all….
All nature is but art, unknown to thee:
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see:
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good.
Sonnet 116:
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
by William Shakespeare
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error, and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.
Defining Love
Posted Friday, April 23, 2012 by Women of Faith
Love is difficult to define. It is one of those intangibles—something we cannot touch, taste, see, hear, or smell. Still, we do try. The dictionary defines love as an intense emotional attachment. For many of us, love is just that—a feeling we have—and feelings can be very hard to put into words. It doesn’t simplify matters to define love by saying that God is love, because we can’t really define Him either. But think about it for a minute. God says, “I am God. I am love. These are My people and I love them. How have I behaved towards those I love? See, this is what love expects, how love reacts, what love is willing to do. This is love.” It may not help us to slap a nice, tidy definition on love, but it does help us to understand what love is supposed to look like.
This week, stretch your mind and heart a bit as you try to comprehend the bigness of God’s love for you. Do you have a view of the ocean where you live? God’s love is much more vast and deep! Do you have mountains to admire? God’s love is higher than they are! Do you live in wide open places—”big sky country”? God’s love stretches beyond those horizons! Are you blessed with a view of the night sky, with all its stars? The love of God for you is higher even than these! Take comfort and confidence in the unchanging faithfulness of God’s love. Give thanks for the gentleness of God’s love. Pray that you will be able to receive God’s love, for that is just the thing your heart needs today.
Excerpted from Receiving God’s Love. Copyright 2005 Thomas Nelson, Inc. Published by Thomas Nelson. http://www.womenoffaith.com/
“Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” —Luke 24.39
The Roman Imperium by its sword tried to sever Jesus from his life, to pry him from his own flesh; and their minions ever since have sought to separate the spiritual from the physical Death, they reasoned, ought to do it well.
How daft of them to think The One who made all things, who crafted earth and us from dust, who fashioned smooth and rugged stones, and lungs and lips and eyes and hands, and bones that bear their burdens with such elegance and grace, and skin, its mounds and cups and curves and plains and folds so eloquent, alluring, and divine— that the Creating One would by their force forget pronouncing all things, in their concrete thingness, good. They didn’t know the one thing that God wants is for all love to be made flesh. So when they robbed poor Jesus of his breath and blood, the one thing that God gave him, new and holy, raising him from death, was this: a body, flawed but breathing, flesh and bone.
Believer, show yourself your hands and side, your trembling, lusting, spiritual mass, your creaking, flabby, leaking, blessed flesh. Look at your hands, that God has made. This is the glory in which resurrection comes.
For seeing that something always comes
to fill the empty places.
For making spaces,
and not being afraid of
the empty places —
for letting all the moments be
these empty containers
sure of the filling of God.
I have waited a lot over the years, for many different reasons. In 1997 I stepped out in a leap of faith, and my life exploded in ways I certainly never expected and I began a walk of faith that has been quite an incredible journey with God. It certainly was not what I would have picked for myself, yet, I do not question the way. As the song, Heal the Wound says, ‘I have not lived a life that boasts of anything, and I don’t take pride in what I’ve done, But I’ll build an alter with the rubble that you found me in, and every stone will sing of what you can redeem.’
In 2008 I waited on God for 52 days. It was an indescribably difficult time, in so many ways, and it changed me. It took my relationship with God and my faith to a new level. It was a time of learning and trusting God way beyond anything I had ever done before, and it set incredible things in motion over these next years. It took me to places of growth and healing that I did not expect, yet and so grateful for.
As you can probably tell by this blog over the past week or so – I am at another place of waiting, and, as I walk thorough it I am so thankful I have the prior experiences to encourage me as I walk through this time. Yes, patience is a virtue because it’s HARD!!! haha Certainly doesn’t come naturally for me…how about you? I want to make things happen! Shake up the people involved! Get something resolved – RIGHT NOW!!!! And yet I know, if I wait on God, if I am patient, it will be the right resolution, not just an end, or a beginning. Living with faith, having patience, putting life’s tough issues into God’s hands – then not worrying about them, and just waiting for Him is a practice of strength, discipline and courage – it is a choice which adds maturity, peace, joy, abundance, and so many other great benefits to our lives. It also allows us to grow in intimacy with God in ways that are like nothing else we experience.
As I read Ann’s words above, I, too, am sure (and eager) of the filling…and so I wait…
I am still
I wait
I pray
I clean
I am alone
– for the most part
Solitary
– even in a crowd
I wish for it
– interruptions come
some enjoyable
some annoying
I am present, yet not
I know the answer will come
I know movement is coming
but for now
It is the silence
That I embrace
and endure
with patience
and courage
at other times I have even been cheerful during this time
but not this time
This time,
I am in mourning
Grief surrounds my heart
heavy sadness
– for choices made
– being made even now
I long for intimacy
I long to be the choice
I wish I could help
but I can’t
Only God can do what needs to be done
– and He can only do it if the choice is made by you
– to ask, seek, knock – even the slightest opening He can transform
the choice is personal and must be freely made
and so we wait –
me and God
Jesus puts his arm around my shoulders
and pulls me close
I feel the Spirit holding my heart and bringing me comfort
I close my eyes and hear his promise,
‘I will never leave you or forsake you’
and my sadness is blurred
with the surge of peace and joy
The silence is good
we know each other here
in the waiting
we have been here many times before
I have learned to wait
– Even enjoy this path
the answer will come soon enough
this is the place of intimacy and trust
where we know each other most
Life will move forward
and I will spring into action
and do what is being set for me to do in my waiting
I do not question the way
– I am a willing vessel
Mine was a shattered life
which has known your healing touch
you, so lovingly, put my pieces together again
and mended me with love
My God knows the way
– mine is a heart of thankfulness
I am the grateful follower
waiting to love you and share with whomever I can
Not for any other reason except love
You have allowed me to glimpse
My belovedness
My value
The value of each soul you have created
The depths of your love is unending
I desire only to please you
My creator, my savior, my lover, my friend
I long to share this love
with the ones you allow me to
And so I wait
I stay in the silence
until my answer comes
and God speaks
I am listening, Lord
As You have before,
Speak when you are ready
life: acoustic & amplified 