Gentle me,
Holy One,
into an unclenched moment,
a deep breath,
a letting go
of heavy expectancies,
of shriveling anxieties,
of dead certainties,
that, softened by the silence,
surrounded by the light,
and open to the mystery,
I may be found by wholeness,
upheld by the unfathomable,
entranced by the simple,
and filled with the joy
that is you.
( from Guerillas of Grace by Ted Loder, Luramedia 1984)
As I've mentioned before, we're going through much change in the GP household just now. Reading Diggingalot's reflections this morning on Let Something Essential Happen to Me took me back to another beautiful piece by Ted Loder that I stumbled across months ago and that's since formed a background to my prayers. It's so easy for this quiet joy to be drowned out by the noise and distractions, so thanks for reminding me about it once again.
And did you know - according to some of my bible reading notes - that the ancient Assyrian word for prayer was the same as they had for opening a clenched fist?
What a beautiful prayer. I'm going to use it on the course today!
ReplyDeleteThanks, it is beautiful, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteOne to remember - a thought for the day, the week, the month, they year, the years?
ReplyDeleteOn the day I read this, I was beginning to become aware that I had been clenching my jaw, something that I do when getting stressed out. If I don't take action, I end up with intense pain in my jaw which can cause difficulty eating - aargh - I DO like my food!
This post of yours was timely - it brought everything to the front of my mind, and I was able to sort my jaw AND the stress problem out all in one day! Thanks!
That's great, Kirsten. Really glad to hear it helped you. And you've reminded me about stress can do to your body; I suspect it and my niggling back problems are linked in more ways than one!
ReplyDelete