Tonight I stand under the big oak tree that is heavy with
the song of migrating starlings and the leaves flutter down slow around me. I
don’t know why I am so tired or why the yawning hills seem to swallow me whole
when I stand in their shadow. The sky is turning, the leaves are turning, the
whole world is turning beneath my feet. I want to run away.
This morning, Nouwen tells me, “…the real death—the passing from time into eternity, from the
transient beauty of this world to the lasting beauty of the next, from darkness
into light—has to be made now.”
I stand under that tree and suddenly, the deep thrumming of hundreds
of wings. Everything—from this sudden flight to the fall of the leaves—everything reminds that this world is
transient.
Do I have the courage to live from the light of this truth?
The sky is a flame and the birds fly into it, sparking my
heart with the flint of eternity.
This is my day 7 of joining the 31 day-ers. They’ve ignited a fire and the flame of their
passion is contagious. I know myself too well to say I’ll post every day…but I
promise to try. If it sounds inviting to you and you don’t mind coming late to
the party (like me), you can read more about the wave at The Nester’s place.
She’s the hostess with the mostest.
And Cheryl today:
9 comments:
I love this. This inspires. The beauty and hope of eternity...when we get a glimpse of that, it puts everything else into perspective.
Yes, you do have the courage to do this. By God's grace, you can; you must. It's the best we can offer him.
Even though it's not your point, this reminds me of a Joni quote I put on my blackboard yesterday, "Suffering keeps swelling our feet, so that earth's shoes don't fit." I think Joni knows how to live in eternity, don't you? My momma used to tell me that thinking about living in eternity always made her tired. It's hard to wrap our minds around it.
We are both thinking of seasons today, aren't we, Faith Elaine? I just left a comment over at your place. Lovely words, my friend. You always encourage me to go deeper.
Isn't this the truth, Theresa? If I can just figure out how to keep my mind here...keeping that eternal perspective. Looking with eyes of wonder helps.
"Sparking my
heart with the flint of eternity." Yes... beautiful!!
Beautiful, every lick of it. SO glad you took the plunge!
i so appreciate Nouwen's writings ... thank you for sharing a phrase today ... and the photo is simple, profound, and touching!
Less poetic, but my mother used to remind me that 'it was all going to burn.'
Well -- what can I say. She was blunt. But the truth is , the things we invest in so heavily here will one day disappear. Shouldnt I invest in eternal things instead?
Post a Comment