"I do not fear this day for You are with me."
BODMIN HERMIT
Life feels fraught with distress and anxiety these days - so many people I care about are dealing with health scares and concerns. I have a couple little issues of my own to add to the mix. And then there are all those horrid events destroying lives around the world. Life does not feel beautiful some days, and yet a lifetime of learning to watch for the beauty and ask for His infinite grace, helps me to navigate moment by moment through these troubling times. For that I am grateful.
When I feel overwhelmed, I search for words to calm and steady my thoughts. How often I have found good thoughts being offered by fellow life travelers in their writings and social feeds. On this sunny Friday morning, with wind sweeping through bare treetops and waning flower gardens, I share these few words with you... hoping your own heart is steadied by something you read here.
One
"Although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of the overcoming of it."
HELEN KELLER
Two
"There must be a silk purse
in here somewhere."
JULIA CAMERON, The Sound of Paper
Three
"Faith includes noticing the mess, the
emptiness and discomfort, and letting
it be there until some light returns."
ANNE LAMOTT, as seen on social media
Four
When my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the Rock that is higher than
my wisdom and abilities.
BASED ON PSALM 61:2
Five
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways!
Re-clothe us in our rightful mind;
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, Stanzas 1 and 5
❦
Sending heart hugs and wishes for a beautiful weekend,
Brenda
Photo credit:
Image by 8926 from Pixabay
thank-you for this gem of hope and beauty. Each one precious! I needed this today. I hope you are well and I prayed for your encouragement! I was reading some of John Greenleaf Whittier's poetry last night. I LOVE his poetry<3
ReplyDeleteJanet, thank you for your lovely note and little prayer. xo
DeleteOh, good words indeed for these troublesome days! Close to home, among many other things, I feel as though I am becalmed forever (world without end!) on the sea of a "small" project. Progress is painfully slow and I feel as though I will never get to the other side. But Julia Cameron's witty quip has me chortling, and hope is renewed that I will find my 'silk purse' in the midst of it all.😀
ReplyDeleteI giggle every time I see that quote of Julia's. Thanks, Kathy! xo
DeleteThank you for sharing these calming words.
ReplyDeleteLiving in our upside down world, we certainly need them, don't we? Thanks, Margie. xo
DeleteThank you, Brenda. The Bodmin Hermit's words of trust in an ever present God comfort me. May you find peace and equilibrium in your days.
ReplyDeleteI follow him on X (Twitter) and he often shares something that speak right to the moment and need. Thanks for your little wish/prayer for me. Back at you, Lorrie! xo
DeleteComforting words Brenda, thank you. Psalm 61 is one that I return to often. (Your posts have not been coming through o my list and I have missed the last three)
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I too love the Psalms - so grateful for Psalmist David who wrote them down and now we receive their comfort millennia later. xo
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