This morning I was giving my office one of its occasional blitzes - as ever prompted by the fact that it was so awfully untidy I could no longer work in it! There are, because I've seen them, ministers' offices that are of adequate size to house their contents and which do not double as store rooms for those items of church property that no one else will store; mine is not one of them! The advantage of the occasional blitz - which today included turning out some of the drawers - is that there are always lost treasures waiting to be rediscovered.
Today I found these two, from late 2003...
Even as we seem to be dying
in weakness
in fear
overwhelmed by all the forces against us,
there are moments when we know
that we will never be determined
by any of that.
There is a God
who says to us
weep strongly,
be strongly afraid,
care strongly,
choose life strongly in faith
and I will live strongly
in all of that.
There is a God
Who moves from hill to mountain top,
who stands high in the depths of the pit,
who gasps free of the waters of drowning
and plants the cross-shaped tree
on the very shaking ground on which we stand
as though our trembling earth is like a rock.
There is a God
who steps free
of the binding chains around our souls
and calls us in a voice
which always knows our name,
who always feels our pain,
who lifts our feet
as though our life
stands cupped in a saving hand
and cherished forever in a life-filled place.
from Dorothy McRae-Mcmahon, Liturgies for the Journey of life, p124; sent to me in 2003 by Jo H
Some days we struggle, other days we soar, but there's not a day when we're not held securely in his everlasting arms
From a card, not sure who from (I only have the front now!), probably Rachel J or Anne P c. 2003
If life is tough, then receive the gift these words offer
If life is good, then why not keep them in your own rainy day collection?