My spirit cannot gain a quiet moment,
It cannot hear your voice out in the world
Amongst the mighty torrent that surrounds it
From morning radio blare to traffic roar.
Too many images bombard my tired eyes
And holiness is lost
Within the tragic sights
Of murder, war, and cruelty on nightly news.
A breath of quiet calls me to the wilderness
To heal my inward ears and eyes;
To give my soul and spirit rest
In open desert and oasis shade.
I pitch my tent beneath the spacious skies
And count the heavenly bodies bright above.
Each star pronounces healing to my troubled sighs
Through the Creator’s vast and wondrous love.
Here in the wilderness, my restless anguish is released.
My soul and body, mind and spirit
Open to renewal, like flowers in the sun;
I am freed to see and hear the truth again.
I prepare to walk into the world once more
To offer myself in God’s service,
To give myself in Christ’s love.
Here I am, receive me; here I am, send me.
2 comments:
That is a lovely meditation, Judith, and so apropos for Lent.
I recall in my younger years considering that whereas one's retreating to quietness and solitude amidst nature (whether barren or verdant) might be very nice, it shouldn't be essential for one's hearing from God and having a close walk with Him. Theologically, I'd say that still holds, but in actual practice there is great benefit for us - spirit, soul, mind, and body in being in such a place for quiet moments. That's how God has made us.
Thanks, Peter. I am inclined to agree with you that it shouldn't be essential to retreat into quietness and solitude in order to have a close walk with God. One can have a close walk with God anywhere, any time, without having to go away somewhere to an organized retreat.
However, to have a closer walk with God, I think it is important to have the times of quiet, in fact, those daily times of quiet and prayer, which you yourself already have, I'm sure. Many people do not have a moment of silence in their day and would not know what to do with it if they did!
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