The Faithfulness of God I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and reassure you. (Isaiah 46:4) Life is long and hard. Especially when you are aligned with God. For Jesus, his “life” was only about three years long. The life of his ministry. The life of his walking God into the world. There were no gray hairs on his head the...
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Once you’ve heard a child cry out to Heaven for help, and go unanswered, nothing’s ever the same again. Nothing. Even God changes. But there is a healing hand at work that cannot be deflected from its purpose. I just can’t make sense of it, other than to cry. Those tears are part of what it is to be a monk. Out there, in the world, it can be very cold. It seems to be about luck, good and bad, and the distribution is...
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Open Hands A funny word, I thought when I first read it. Not just a funny word for a topic for contemplative prayer, but a funny word just on its own. Period. Full stop. Wrestle? Of course, all I could think of was the very common use of it these days—and very common indeed in terms of the quality of life—the term, mud wrestling. So, I am sitting in contemplative prayer and wondering what in Heaven’s name does mud wrestling—or...
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Inward Peace O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst say that in thee we may have peace, and hast bidden us to be of good cheer, since thou hast overcome the world: give us ears to hear and faith to receive thy word; that in all the tensions and confusion of this present time, with mind serene and steadfast purpose, we may continue to abide in thee....
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Hands I remember when I was learning about the five realms of God. The second realm is surrender. This is when God gives you something you don’t want to accept, but you have no choice. This is where all the pain of our lives comes to us. The key to surrender is faith. And I remember very clearly the visions I had about this. I am in a very small boat, with a mast and sail in the middle. And a big storm comes up. A huge...
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