life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “strength”
Be strong and of good courage.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:8, 9 NIV
on our way
You are on your way from Jerusalem to Jericho,
going out from the heart of your religion into your daily life.
Along the way you are assaulted.
Whatever your religion has given you is taken.
You are stripped of a good way to present yourself.
You are robbed of your worthiness, whatever is to your credit.
The priest who would receive your sacrifice is not interested.
The Levite who would assure your righteousness does not.
You have no power, no treasure, nothing to offer,
nothing with which to prove or defend yourself.
You are utterly dependent, and deeply alone.
There is no reason to love you.
And your enemy draws near and bends over you.
Your fear, what you reject and despise, looms.
And heals you.
The one you distance makes you a neighbor.
The one you judge shows you mercy.
The one you refuse to love loves you.
We are loved without reason.
We are saved, not successful.
Only the one dependent on mercy can show us mercy.
Only the vulnerable can teach us trust.
We need the poor, to learn to receive.
We need the guilty, to learn to be forgiven.
We need the alien, to see ourselves, and all souls.
Without them, how destitute we are
on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho,
poor and naked, lost in the land of grace,
love draining out of us, ravenously sucking on our egos,
shivering in the rags of our self-sufficiency.
I don’t know about trusting the Lord
what the mother in the projects knows.
I don’t understand forgiveness like the prisoner.
I need to learn humility from the prostitute.
I will truly get mercy only side by side
with those who have no other hope.
The Samaritan I fear and despise
is my teacher, my master,
my savior,
my Christ.
________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net
reflections on a day
We swim in abundance
This day is living
flowing with
intimacy
and abundance
As I reflect on this day
I am full
I went with $8
I gave $5
I was given $40
I shared $20
I left with riches
beyond description and measure
I am stronger because of you
I will never put gas in my tank again
without praying for that circle
of beautiful women
starting with Barbara’s entering, speaking, blessing,
passing hand to hand
that green gift for me
for the same abundance
to rain on them
every day
showers of blessings
running down into
their shoes in sloshy goodness
I have found it true that
there is always enough to share
giving and receiving
are the same act of healing
There is much music
In my fullness
There are symphonies
Playing in my soul
I thank each of you for
your life giving songs
my friends
my sisters
AL 4/27/13
extreme faith-living
It’s a fascinating way to live
living on the very edge of faith
stepping out on the spot directed
when there doesn’t even seem to be a rope
trusting in a net
or wings
or something
walking on water
without care
to what others believe
or even what my fearful mind has to say
I walk on the bridge of the faithful
reaching for the strawberries
growing in the mountain cliff
after all, I’ve gotten this far on miracles alone
why should I waste time on worry at this point?
God is always faithful
AL 4/16/13
the world needs kindness
After yesterday’s Boston Marathon bombings, people around the world are praying for this city, and the people affected by the violence. But don’t stop there: pray for the whole world. After all, it’s really the world’s marathon. I’ve been there near the finish line, surrounded by people of every nation. As the winner runs by, a crowd breaks out in the national anthem—of Kenya. I’m sure you noticed all the international flags in the news videos. It’s the whole world’s race. And today we’re a part of the whole world’s pain. We share the trauma and grief that much of the world lives in every day. This is not Boston’s unique pain. It is everyone’s. Pray for the the healing of the world.
People say, “Be strong.” We will, yes, we will. But the world does not need strength. What the world needs is kindness. The world needs people who have the courage to be gentle, even when those around them are full of rage and despair and violence, who refuse to join the world’s bitterness. The world needs people who choose love over fear. That’s the only thing that will actually change the world.
It’s not easy. Love is not quick, and does not produce immediate results. It’s a marathon. It takes dedication and training and a lot of commitment. It’s not for the faint-hearted. As Gandhi said, if you are too cowardly to be nonviolent, by all means take up arms to fight for justice. Love takes guts. It takes faith, confidence that a greater love is at work even when we cannot see it. And it takes patience, like a marathon — the willingness to go the distance, to keep at it when your body cries, “Quit!,” when your mind thinks of better things to do, when pain and weariness make you want to give up —it takes guts to keep going anyway. The Via Dolorsa is the toughest race. To share in the world’s pain and sadness, and still keep up hope and love — that is the world’s oldest marathon. The good news that we do not run alone. Nor do we run on our own energy: we are moved by the desire of God for the healing of the world.
Pray for those who are in pain today. Pray for the world, and for each of us, for the spirit of peace, for the courage to love in the face of fear and be gentle in the face of violence, for the guts to be part of the mending of the world. Pray for those who are hurting, for those who are afraid, for those who are in sorrow. Pray for all of us, that we may make gentle this wounded world. Even now the Lamb of God is moving among us, never giving up, keeping on with unflagging love and tenderness. Take heart, breathe deeply, and keep going.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net
life: acoustic & amplified 