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Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Friday, March 13, 2020

keep moving


“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
                                                   Martin Luther King Jr.
_______________________________________

they sat together
two people
not so old
not so very young

holding hands
and staring
blankly
at the food in front of them

the restaurant was noisy
but not so noisy we could not hear
her gasp of breath

her sob

her partner concern etched
leaned toward her

and her voice cut through the murmur of voices
the sound of silverware
and the clatter of plates

“I just can’t do it anymore”
“I just can’t do life’

How many people
Have come to that place
Where they are no longer sure they can keep moving forward

some of them talk to me
as a pastor
some of them talk to me
as a mental health counselor

some of them have no one to talk to

or simply can’t

They aren’t flying
Or running
Or walking
Or even crawling

They are face down in the mud
Illness has come, and they have no insurance
A child has died of cancer
They care about justice, and see justice slowly die
They are concerned about the poor, but watch the rich plunder
They ache for the immigrants, and see them herded into camps


children lost
houses lost
health lost
love lost
hope lost
faith lost

the statistics are grim
with the rate of completed suicides
rising 30% since 2000
and 10% of that increase coming in the last three years

people are stunned by the greed
the corruption and dishonesty
they are frightened by looming authoritarianism
and the deterioration of the planet

climate change
mass shootings
injustice

it is all too much

and yet
the world needs those
with soft hearts
those who will feel the pain of the world

the world needs those who see
the ills of the world
and care

the world needs these precious souls
to keep moving forward

to keep caring
keep giving
keep feeling
keep loving
keep living

there are times
for all of us
when it is hard to even crawl

those times when battered
we feel like there is no hope
when it feel like the abusers in power
will keep abusing
and the corrupt will wallow in wealth

and it is then
that we must go to the Center
to that place where the breath of God
fills us
Spiritus
Pneuma

we most go in
centering
in prayer
in meditation
seeking God,
opening
waiting

for enough breath
to take another step
or to crawl
just a little further

when I go to the center
so often
the words of Isaiah echo
and comfort

“those that wait upon the Lord
 Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength
 Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength and…..

 They will soar on wings like eagles;
 they will run and not grow weary,
 they will walk and not be faint.”  (Isaiah 40)

Let us wait upon the Lord
and keep moving
and never, ever,

quit

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