Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sweet child, be at peace. Be calm and wait. I am creating a life for you. It is my joy.

Many losses have yet to come, but you will gain what is priceless. I know the value of all things, and above all, you are valuable to me. You are far from forgotten, and as the months roll by, you will see how I envision your life, and all of the changes I have made in the endeavor to complete you. We are together now. There is no other way. Nothing can stand between us -- not the flaws of others, not the traps of desire, nor the path of worldly weight. With me, you are the wind and water, the silence, the shade of the trees. With me, you are all that is.

And what have you to fear, when the heart of the world looks upon you with love? What have you to doubt, when you favor me above all things? Do you think I do not listen? I write you letters as you write me. I sign my name in the grass at your feet and speak through the whispers of a hundred voices. I compel their hands; I know their tongues. You stretch yourself to understand, and I move that you might see me. Dear child, I am not hiding. I am with you as we speak. I am on your shoulder as we write.

You ask if I can move the universe, and sweet child, I have been... but you are fragile. You, above all else, are as delicate as finely blown glass. To move too swiftly would cause cracks. Under too much heat, there would be flaws. Just look at the porcelain of your hands; at the slender slope of your fingers. I am the artisan, and you, my unfinished symmetry; a carefully crafted song.

It shall pass soon. The winds have calmed and there shall be a great peace. You will have time to rebuild, to become what we have planned. Hold me tightly and be still, and know that you are safe.

8 comments:

Tim Shey said...

"I sign my name in the grass at your feet and speak through the whispers of a hundred voices. I compel their hands; I know their tongues. You stretch yourself to understand, and I move that you might see me. Dear child, I am not hiding. I am with you as we speak. I am on your shoulder as we write.

"You ask if I can move the universe, and sweet child, I have been... but you are fragile. You, above all else, are as delicate as finely blown glass. To move too swiftly would cause cracks. Under too much heat, there would be flaws. Just look at the porcelain of your hands; at the slender slope of your fingers. I am the artisan, and you, my unfinished symmetry; a carefully crafted song."

Man, this is beautiful stuff. Very inspiring.

If we are submitted to the Lord, He will mold us into the vessel that He wants. He will prune our vines. At times, it is a painful and unpleasant business, but it needs to be done so that Christ can be glorified in our bodies.

I never thought that I would be hitchhiking all over the United States at the age of 50, but this has been God's will for my life. I am not sure how long the Lord wants me on the road: will I hitchhike one more year? will I hitchhike till I am 75? I don't know.

Not my will, but Thine be done.

"The Cross to her she calls Christ to her, Christens her wild-worst best."

--Gerard Manley Hopkins

Christens her wild-worst best.

There is something beautiful about wildness. John the Baptist was a voice crying in the wilderness. I wonder when John was alive, if the local people called him John the Wild Man--that wild man down by the River Jordan. Whatever John was doing, I am sure that he was doing his wild-worst best.

Tim Shey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tim Shey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tim Shey said...

Just thought I would wish you a happy Thanksgiving.

Right now it is 7 AM in western Wyoming. It is 9 below zero and there is around 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground. I spent some time yesterday shovelling my friends' driveway clear of snow. There is probably a foot to two-feet of snow in the mountains. You can see the Teton Mountains from the window (when the sky is clear); they are over 13,000 feet in elevation.

It is such a blessing to be out of the cold for several days. It is has been great catching up on some reading, writing and working on my blog. My friends will probably come back on Sunday, so I will probably hit the road on Saturday.

Here is a quote from "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers:

"Our Lord replies in effect, that abandonment is for Himself, and not for what the disciples themselves will get from it."

"When we come up against the barriers of natural relationship, where is Jesus Christ? Most of us desert Him--'Yes, Lord, I did hear Thy call; but my mother is in the road, my wife, my self-interest, and I can go no further.' 'Then,' Jesus says, 'you cannot be My disciple.'

"The test of abandonment is always over the neck of natural devotion. Go over it and God's own abandonment will embrace all things you had to hurt in abandoning. Beware of stopping short of abandonment to God. Most of us know abandonment in vision only."

*****

"Dame at our door drowned, and among our shoals remember us in the roads the heaven-haven of the reward, our King back, oh upon English souls. Let Him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, a crimson-cresseted east, more brightening her rare-dear Britain . . ."

--Gerard Manley Hopkins

Remember us in the roads.

Tim Shey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tim Shey said...

Sorry about the deleted comments. I thought there was a glitch in the computer or the blogger, but I guess not.

So I will redeem myself with these words:

"Hither then, last or first, to hero of Calvary, Christ, his feet, never ask if meaning it, wanting it, warned of it, men go."

--Gerard Manley Hopkins

poetsforpeanuts said...

Hi Tim! A very, very Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I am sitting in front of a computer in my house on a cold, sunny day in California. There is a stubborn calico cat digging her claws into my leg. She wants to cuddle so badly! I think my typing offends her.

Later on today I will be driving down to Long Beach to see my aunt's family. I'm bringing a few dishes and looking forward to a good time. I prayed for you to have a good Thanksgiving so I'm happy you're out of the cold! Every day is another miraculous gift and a beautiful walk with God. There is richness everywhere....

I'm glad you like the letter! I write a lot to God, but I guess it was time for God to write back, haha. We're looking at the possibility of losing our house. I shall go where God calls me.

Thank you for the inspiring quotes! I feel like my blog is blessed. :)

Have a wonderful, snow-filled, warm Thanksgiving!

-T

kourtney said...

Although it doesn't take much these days, your words move me to tears!! Your gift is a blessing to us all. Thank you.