"Nearer,
my God, to Thee,
nearer to Thee.
E'en though it be a cross
that raises me..."
- Sarah Adams
I draw
deeper within
the
silence
to
find your voice
a perfect
stillness
that echoes
peace
more
present
than
breath or
beat
and
in this
fathomless
immanence
I am held so closely to
Your heart...
that
I hear the
roaring chorus of a
thousand
angels
whispering
"all is well"
I feel the arms of
a Father under
whose
wings I have come
to
trust...
Entwined
in this
womb of
promise
I can rest
all my hopes
upon
You
Closer,
and closer yet
I wriggle
and burrow
myself
along the length of
your mercy,
I inch myself
into the
niche that
is mine alone
where Father and
perfect
child share a
blessed unity...
the world is
spinning,
leaders run aimlessly
looking for answers
they
hope will feed the
waiting,
the hopeful...
words fly from
the mouths of men...
but beyond their words,
above their
promises,
deeper than their
opinions and
predictions,
there
lies a Truth
so simple,
a
Love so invariable,
a Principle so
changeless...
The kingdom of
heaven
is within...
within...
each of us...
so infinitely
near
so immanently
dear
so profoundly
still,
and
true...
the unsearchable
You
piercing the
lie of
distance
transcending
the illusion of
separation
so that
we
find
we are One...
and
within,
us
all...
impartially
universally
is the
All-in-allness
of
an
infinite
You
so tender,
so strong,
so deeply
near
to Thee
""The immanent sense of Mind-power
enhances the glory of Mind.
Nearness,
not distance,
lends enchantment to this view."
― M. B. Eddy
"The counsel of the Lord
standeth for ever,
the thoughts of his heart
to all generations....."
- Psalms
when I think
like Him...
when I think
like Love...
when I think with
my heart...
I have noticed
that I
am actually
feeling
the thoughts
and ideas...
there is
a visceral
immanence to
what I know...
sometimes
it is like
a rock lying
on my heart
and I feel the weight of
a thousand
holy
moments of
repentance
and other times
it feels like the fluttering
wings of
a hundred million
butterflies
taking flight
under my breastbone...
and I know
without
a
doubt
that
this
is "of the heart"
and the words that come
are not my own...
I am as surprised by their
color
form
shape
sound
texture...
as I was that
first time
I felt the
shudder of
wonder
as
her infant
fist
moved beneath
my ribs,
and tasted
the savory
wine
of an unbidden
tear
along my
lips
True thoughts
are not "of the head"
but
of the heart
the sanctuary of
Soul
where feelings
take flight
and
become
actions...
oh dear Father
reach deeply into
that space
and
awaken
the
winged
creature
of
Love
that she may flutter
against
my
hope-strings
and
play a
song
You
"God is Mind
and holy thought is sending;
Man, His image, hears His voice.
Every heart may understand His message,
In His kindness may rejoice....."
― A. Rutgers
"I will sing
of Thy mercies,
O Lord...."
- David
how did you
do it?
how did you sing
these songs...
without weeping
uncontrollably
each time
you remembered His
tender mercies
how did you
stay
a river of tears from
drowning your
voice...
your songs of thanksgiving...
I can barely
read your psalms without being
rendered
speechless...
much less
being able to
sing...
how did you
do it?
but on the other hand,
how could you
not sing,
it would
be impossible to
remain silent,
control yourself,
contain the song
in your soul...
when you have
felt His mercy,
experienced His love,
known His forgiveness...
you become
a lark in his hands...
you have been
given the opportunity to
sing His praises,
bear witness to His kindness,
celebrare redemption,
salvation,
joy....
and you
must...
it is an imperative within
you,
an eruption of
something unbidden,
unsought,
irresistible
so yes,
i might weep through each
stanza
sob out each syllable,
but I will sing,
and sing,
and sing...
eyes red with tears
face blotchy
throat tight with emotion
heart bursting with gratitude
barely able to
get the words out
over a sob...
hymnal wet with
tears...
I will sing
i will sing
of His mercy
and His love...
and with
each note...
"ransomed,
healed,
restored,
forgiven..."
I am
new...
like you
still
singing
"Praise we the Lord,
for His mercy endureth forever.
Let us extol Him with joyous and loving endeavor.
Come let us sing,
praising our God and our King.
Should we be silent?
Ah, never...."
― J. Neander
"How sweet it is
to love someone,
how right it is
to care...."
- John Denver
we live
near one another,
within a small circle
of midwestern
land between
two rivers...
far from the
place
we call
"home"
a high country
ranch
nestled
within the
bend of
another river
and
below five
fingers
but...
we never sit
face-to-face
only screen-to-screen
I remember
when your voice
rang through the aspens
and the lodgepole
pine
across a shimmering lake
and beyond a
chapel under the stars...
when I wondered
if you knew
we all thought you
could
"make it"
as a cowboy
poet...
you came and went in
our lives like
the seasons...
here,
and
there
and then,
here again...
a flash of mane and tail,
soft-spoken
and sun-burnished
whispering
"whoa"
in a voice
only heard by
her ears
bent to catch
your
words
before
galloping off
through
the sagebrush and
yarrow
while we watched
and
whooped
and
wondered how you
learned to
ride
"like that"
you
were
a boy,
a man,
and now,
a spectre online...
but always,
always...
always a friend
I remember
your voice,
with theirs...
an impromptu
reunion
concert
Valerie kitchen
filled with
old ranch hands
once-upon-a-time buckaroos,
rodeo queens,
and commancheros who
never forgot
a night in the forest with
a match, a blanket,
a horse
to call a friend...
"and trails to lead old
cowboys
home again..."
it's been too long
since we sang along with John, and
Dan, and JT...
aspens quivering in the
hush of twilight,
campfire crackling,
and
your guitar
leading us along a path
dusty with
fond memories and
horses nickering
in the
lower two-eighty...
we sang of
poems,
and prayers,
and promises, and
things that we
believed in...."
I still believe in them...
whither,
and the value of
friendship,
alone with your thoughts,
and you,
our cowboy poet
our friend...
"And Jonathan said to David,
Go in peace,
forasmuch as we have sworn
both of us
in the name of the Lord, saying,
"The Lord be between me and thee,..."
― I Samuel
"Come and hear,
all you who fear God,
and I will declare
what He as done
for my soul...."
- David
oh, nathan...
I never thought...
I never imagined
that I
would be
"that man..."
what
have I done?
She was his wife,
and I,
a King who
already had
six wives
and one
my
beloved,
my Michal,
Saul's gift...
did You forsake me?
did You leave me to my
own devices?
me,
the chosen
son,
the youngest,
the humble shepherd,
the ruddy boy
of a beautiful countenance
and goodly to look at...
why did you leave
me alone on the roof
that night
why did you
not send her in before
I saw her
bathing...
why...
It says You
"looketh on the heart"
and not on
the outward appearances,
but what of my heart...
did You not see
that I was weak
before you made me King...
dear son
and yes,
you are My son...
I want you to know
what Love
is
the breadth of it
the height of it
the might and majesty of
its power to
heal
and redeem
and show mercy...
how will you know
what profound kindness
it will take to be a great man,
if you have not
felt the power of
forgiveness,
the depth of
compassion,
the majesty of a humble heart
from within
your own soul
Uriah is
my son...
he is still my son
I am holding him
tenderly,
my Life is
his life...
let yourself be
strengthened by the
power of
grace....
where loss is
gain...
and mercy is more
rare than
fine gold,
forgiveness more vital
than a man's
breath
and compassion
sings a psalm of hope
to waiting
generations
of
those aching with
regret,
pierced with
guilt,
shattered by sorrow,
and stooped in
sorrow for all they have
selfishly wasted...
write your song
oh King...
sing
a new song...
one that refreshes
hope,
restores innocence,
and resurrects all that
was entombed by
regret...
sing a new song
for the new man
the ancient child
the sweet breath of
something
that
bears the
kiss of
angels
the song of
salvation,
redemption
hope...
ransomed,
healed, restored....
and
forgiven
the song of David...
"Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
nor His mercy from me..."
― David
"Be
still,
and know
that I am
God...."
- David
Be
still...
be never-the-less
than all that
you are
as My
own...
be still...
be
constantly
be
consistently
be
quietly
you...
be still
and know...
don't wonder,
imagine,
reason...I don't
just know
what I know...
That I am,
that
very,
precise,
accurate
beautiful
wise
I am
that you are...
be still
be
immovable
in your
poise
unshakable in
your trust
sit deeply
into the
oneness of
your
relationship
with
Me...
be still...
be always
Mine...
be ever
Us..
the only I that
you are
is the one
you
share with
me.
There is nothing
to reach for,
there is nothing
to move towards,
there is
only the
Us
that cannot
be
separated,
divided,
we are
indissoluably linked
we are
One...
and this oneness
is
still,
now,
always,
ever,
eternally
Us.
the only I,
or Us.
"I there more
than one God or Principle?
There is not.
Principle
and its idea
is one,
and this one
is God...."
― Mary Baker Eddy
""There are no greater miracles
known to earth
than perfection
and an unbroken friendship...."
- Mary Baker Eddy
"thank you
for 'friending' me..."
she wrote
"for accepting my
'friend' request..."
he said.
the list has grown,
i see their names and
we read updates about the most
private
events in eachother's lives...
the birth of a child,
a mother's passing,
a move
that not even her
daughter
knew
was in the works...
I see us
sitting in coffeehouses
reconnecting with "friends" while
someone
stares at us from
across the room
just begging to
make eye contact
while
we
scroll
it's fascinating...
but is it friendship?
the enduring kind,
the kind that drops everything
in the middle of the
afternoon and
rushes to hold my hair...
while
my body rejects
what is foreign...
the kind of
friendship
that
prays with me
for
just
a glimpse of what is
native to
my nature -
something she
knows
so
well...
the willingness
to lay down
our lives
for one another,
to share secrets over
a clothesline
and never
betray a trust...
but,
what is
this new
definition of
"friend"
and
how do
we know
what
is genuine?
what
is it
that
lies deep
within
the
chasm of
this online kingdom -
where we post images of
houses we can only dream about,
the wedding dress we didn't wear,
and places we've
never visited but want to
be known for
wanting to go...
somewhere
we hold dear
in our hearts...
and hope
that there will be
a da when....
it might be,
could be
ours.
but,
I wonder,
who are we
to each other...
really?
are we
"friends,"
or do you
only know the me
I tell
you I am -
by my posts
and tweets,
my pins and
photos softened by
digital effects
how do I identify
myself...
am I what I desire -
an album full of smiling children,
happy celebrations,
notable events,
and the statuses that
only tell the story
I wish to have remembered...
is this
what makes
us friends?
or...
are my friendships
defined by
experiences shared in the
space of a moment,
a relationship where the feelings
are so deep that
they
cannot be
translated into a
post,
a blog,
an update meant for sharing...
unless,
of course,
I
change the
setting to include
"the friends of friends..."
a strange phenomena since
what we share is
just between
we two..
what endures when today's newsfeed
fades into yesterday's
timeline?
this...
this is
what I
know
to be real...
my sister's
hand holding a
cold cloth
above my brow,
my daughter's laughter
lingering long after our
call has ended,
my child's hair flowing
through my fingers
as I plait it
for
another day
of school...
a friend's
voice
asking
nothing, and
saying so much in the
silence..
what can I really know
about you,
when the
only
conversations we seem
to have
are
observable by
anyone...
and everyone...
on our list
when
with the click of
a key stroke we
accept,
reject,
hide,
expose,
like,
or unlike
another person
as
a
friend...
what is left
unbroken
when the comment
is made,
removed,
forgotten...
what
kind of
friend
is the greatest miracle
known to earth...
and
what will I
do to
hold it dear...
how deeply
will
i listen
and
be part of
a
miracle...
"Greater love
hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life
for his friends...."
― John
"Nearer,
