Category Archives: Notes
1089. The quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. ~William Shakespeare
The great and amorous sky curved over the earth,
and lay upon her as a pure lover.
The rain, the humid flux descending from heaven
for both man and animal, for both thick and strong,
germinated the wheat, swelled the furrows
with fecund mud and brought forth the buds in the orchards.
~Aeschylus, The Danaides, c 500 B.C.
Rain! Each drop is a small, but powerful, miracle descending from above, and when it falls, it comes down on a mission of salvation through time, space, and distance. When it first hits the ground after a prolonged dry spell like the one we’d been having, the sound of it fills my ears with joyful delight. As I listen to the falling rain it seems to create a kind of music which is not unlike the dulcet chords a beloved’s voice gives rise to. What’s more its haunting melodies often spark the remembrance of a vague “water” memory, perhaps a nebulous recollection of my wet beginning that lingers somewhere in memory’s oldest and deepest recesses. So it is that for as long as I can remember I’ve been drawn to rain’s mystique, and it never fails to put a smile on my face and thanksgiving in my heart. It has been said that nature, like man, sometimes weeps for gladness, and when the smell of wet soil and damp grass greet my nose, I have also been known to “weep for gladness.” Not only that but on the heels of the smiling, gratitude, and weeping, I’m oftimes overcome with the irresistible urge I felt in childhood to jump and dance with wanton joy in the sloshy puddles beneath my feet.
He(God) draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams. Job 36: 27 ✝
**These are rain dotted flowers already blooming in my gardens.
1088. All the water that will ever be is right now. ~National Geographic
Between earth and earth’s atmosphere,
the amount of water remains constant;
there is never a drop more, never a drop less.
This is a story of circular infinity,
of a planet birthing itself.
~Linda Hogan
Rain that has fallen here again today is one of several holy water-bearers, water-bearers without which there is no life. They are the “stuff” in which life is formed, and the “stuff” of which life is sustained. Whatever form the wet “stuff” falls in, it is the same moisture that fell on the faces of Adam and Eve for it is of the water that was in the beginning and is forever in a divinely designed cycle to insure Creation’s continuance. And I find it mind-boggling to think how far each drop of moisture must have traveled throughout the eons of time. Since rain, snow, or ice move in a never-ending circle of coming down to kiss the earth and then going up back to the clouds, it is carried on journeys that take it to all corners of the earth as it fulfills its holy purpose. Man would I love to hear the tales the rain could tell if it too had the gift of speech.
When you look at the natural world, it becomes an icon; it
becomes a holy picture that speaks of the origins of the world.
Almost every mythology sees the origins of life coming
out of water. And, curiously, that’s true.
It’s amusing that the origin of life out of water is in myths and
then again, finally, in science, we find the same thing.
~Joseph Campbell
He (God) provides rain for the earth; He sends water on the countryside. ~Job 5:10 ✝
Time Spinner
Tick and tock
watching the clock.
Seconds and minutes,
turning to hours,
an illusion which isn’t ours.
No beginning and no end,
just a moment to behold,
between a tick and a tock
of a time spinning clock.
1087. I can hear you making small holes in the silence rain… ~Excerpted line from a poem by Jerry Hughes
Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby…
~Excerpt from a poem by Langston Hughes
Listen to the rain! Each drop whispers secrets as it falls in many notes. All in tune the pitter pattering of their rich elemental sounds reveal a holy, life-giving melody written by the hand of God. Yahweh’s songs tell of filling lakes and streams to quench the thirst of earth and man and of replenishing gardens so as to provide food for the bodies and beauty for the souls of His children. There too are songs that like tears which empty the heart of sorrow fall like mercy from above to bless and heal in their quiet persistence.
Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on the earth!
That’s what it said
as it dropped,
smelling of iron,
and vanished
like a dream of the ocean
into the branches
and the grass below.
imagine! imagine!
the long and wondrous journeys
of the rain.
~Edited excerpt from a poem
by Mary Oliver
I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. ~Leviticus 26:4 ✝
**Images found on Pinterest
1086. No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear. ~C.S. Lewis
There is a sacredness in tears.
They are not a mark of weakness,
but of power. They speak
more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.
They are the messengers of
overwhelming grief, of deep contrition,
and of unspeakable love.
~Washington Irving
Nikki was born to us after nine years of marriage, 5 days before my thirtieth birthday and ten days before her father’s 37 birthday. From the instant of her birth, she was, has always been, and is still the greatest joy of our lives. And though James and I know intellectually that she is only 12 hours away by car or an hour and a half by air, somehow it feels like she is far, far away, on the opposite side of the world now. And it’s not that we don’t wish her and her family well. We truly do wish them the very best always, and we know that the Lord has laid this opportunity upon their altar of their lives for a reason. But James and I are lost in sadness at the moment and don’t want anyone to try to minimalize what we’re feeling or tell us it’s foolish or that it will be all right. Also, what Mr. Lewis said is very true because some of what we’re experiencing does feel like fear. Long ago I read in a piece of literature (The Miracle Worker) that we don’t just keep our children safe; they keep us safe as well. So today has been hard, very hard, and for me there have been tears, lots of them as well as fears for both of us. And when I’m hurting like this, I withdraw and become introspective as I search to find my bearings, my balance, my true north again.
When someone you love is gone
in some way from your life,
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you gets fragile,
Your thoughts make you unsure…
~Edited and adapted excerpt
by John O’Donohue
“…Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” ~Excerpt from Joshua 1:9 ✝
1085. Take refuge in your senses, open up to all the small miracles you rushed through. -John O’Donohue
Become inclined to watch the way of rain when it falls slow and free. Imitate the habit of twilight, taking time to open the well of color that fostered the brightness of day. Draw alongside the silence of stone until it calms you. Be excessively gentle with yourself. -John O’Donohue
This will be my mantra for awhile as I am beyond tired tonight. We and all the animals made it safely to our daughters new home, but we are exhausted after two long days of driving in cars jammed packed with boxes.
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. -Psalm 62:5.
old man
The first suffering we must experience is the call surrendering our ties to this world.
This is the death of the old human being in the encounter with Jesus Christ.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
(the remains of bones from those who live in the sea / Glencolmcille Folk Museum, Co Donegal, Ireland / Julie Cook 2015)
Old man take a look at my life
I’m a lot like you
I need someone to love me
the whole day through
Lyrics by Neil Young
The old man, that which is of flesh and bones…
having been born of woman…
must be cast aside.
For that which is old, composed of the world, ego, sin, self, deprivation,
and hidden lusts and agendas
must be surrendered…unto death…
As the encounter, the collision of the old crashing into the person of Jesus Christ,
shatters all assumptions and all that was.
For we know that our old…
View original post 28 more words
1084. A hush is over everything…the world is waiting for the spring. ~Sara Teasdale
Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawn.
~Lewis Grizzard
Don’t flowers put on their
Prettiness each spring and
Go to it with
Everything they’ve got?
Who Would criticize the bed of
Yellow tulips or the blue Hyacinths?
So put a
Bracelet on your
Ankle with a
Bell on it and make a
Little music for
The earth beneath your foot, or
Wear a hat with hot-colored
Ribbons for the
Pleasure of the
Leaves and the clouds, or at least
A ring with a gleaming
Stone for your finger…
~Excerpted lines from a poem
by Mary Oliver
He makes winds His messengers… ~Excerpt from Psalm 104:4 ✝
**Images via Pinterest; collages created by Natalie
1083. When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we will find it in our lives. ~Louise L. Hay
I am probably exaggerating a little,
but I owe my equilibrium to ink and paper,
flowers and gardening.
~Edited line by Julien Green
And so I come here tonight to find my equilibrium, my balance, that has been thrown off after days fraught with fears and tears and the unknown. This tiny little corner of the world is my safe harbor, and in it I so often turn to the Lord. In so doing, I find a balm to create at least some measure of peace and harmony and balance in my mind and life. Now that blood has been drawn and MRI’s taken, we shall soon find out what the future holds.
For Equilibrium, a Blessing
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.
As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity by lightened by grace.
Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of God.
~John O’Donohue
He will be our peace. ~Micah 5:5 ✝
Sacred Touches 