Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. Psalm 6:2
Sometimes we can hardly speak or lift our heads, for the trouble and sorrow that overwhelm our lives. We are in a wasteland – an empty, vast plain where nothing grows, where nothing is useful, where nothing flourishes. We seem to have been abandoned and shoved, against our will, into an exile where the ground beneath us, the sky above us, and the crashing wind that blows through us are the only things that hear our voices. We stand in that start wilderness in fear – fear that we will always be left alone. Fear that the very emptiness around us will swallow us up and no will ever know or ever care. Our eyes feel wet with salty tears, our energy is depleted, meaningful life seems to be slipping from us, and even the organs and bones within our body shake.
Oh, how we would avoid this wasteland – this wilderness. Yet, it is there, in that place of utter despair, that we are most able to recognize and accept the touch of the Holy One. Our prayer becomes so pure and simple that even demons flee in fear. Without the slightest doubt, we freely fall, like a drape of heavy cloth, into the hands of the Holy One who cradles us until the time of trouble and sorrow are past.
O God, let my heart stand so still and sure in your presence that no wasteland can ever overcome me.
From, Daily Vitamins for the Soul, Volume 6
By Renee Miller
E-resident- The Rev. Canon Renee Miller
- The Very Rev. Anthony R. Pompa
- The Cathedral Church of the Nativity is the diocesan Cathedral for the Diocese of Bethlehem and the parish church for 800 or so baptized persons. Our mission is to Know Christ, to make him known, and to serve according to his example. For 150 years this place has been the scene of glorious music and worship, fellowship and formation for people of all ages, and a center for actions of service to the poor, the hungry, and the lonely. We are lavishly blessed.
Hello Renee! This is Canon Mariclair from Nativity. Thank you so much for joining us last night- I found your meditation on the desert as a place of emptiness-before-creation intriguing and was up half the night thinking about what it meant to truly empty myself to become a place for genesis. I look forward to the next three weeks with you, and will go ahead and bite: what is the story of your rose tattoo?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteHello Renee, This is Tony from the Cathedral. I am wondering how you create a space when you are travelling on an 18 wheeler? I am also wondering if you are doing any of the driving?I am also testing the blog because I think my post is going as if I were you, scary huh?
ReplyDeleteOk, just wrote a long comment and it would not post. I'm going to keep it brief until I can figure this out.
ReplyDeleteGood stories, how did you unload all that coke??