Category Archives: hope

Those who give their thought

Posted on by
image copyright Rebekah Choat

image copyright Rebekah Choat

Those who give their thought
to seed, to love and the bringing to birth,
must know the sightless underside
of earth, and perhaps more than once,
for no one goes at no cost
to that place where what is dark,
more still than the hands
of the dead, remembers the light
again, and starts to move.

It is spring, and the little trees
that sprouted in the abandoned field
two years and more ago, striving
to grow, half-smothered under
the shadows of the tall weeds,
now rise above them
and spread their newleafed branches,
nothing between them and the light
sky, nothing at all.

~ Wendell Berry

Tuesday’s Word: hope

Posted on by

hope (n):  a feeling of expectation and desire
for a certain thing to happen

It’s more than a passing fancy, more than a vague wish for something nice.  Hope, the real stuff, is full of desire, of deep, intense longing.  It’s founded on expectation, a firm belief that something will happen.  And it’s specific –  the desire and the expectation are focused on a particular object or outcome.

Hope can bide its time.  It can lie dormant for a season, buried deep, but it is always alive, always alert and watching for its moment to burst into blossom, into something visible and tangible and vibrant.

“Hope is a yearning rooted in reality, that pulls
us toward the radical biblical vision of a world
where truth and justice and  peace do prevail,
a time in which the knowledge of God will
cover the earth as the waters cover the sea…”
~ Katharine Paterson

Tuesday’s Word: patience

Posted on by

Patience (n):  (1) the capacity to accept or tolerate delay,
trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset; (2) the
capacity, habit, or fact of being patient.

Patient (adj): (1) able to remain calm and not become
annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with
problems or difficult people; (2) done in a careful way over
a long period of time without hurrying

Patience is not, as many seem to believe, simply resignation, not an attitude of putting up with one’s circumstances because there’s no choice anyway.  That way lies despair.

Patience, I believe, is composed of elements of faith, trust, and hope.  It is founded on an understanding that Someone greater than myself is responsible for my life, that He is aware of my situation and walks through it with me, and that He is bringing me in His best timing to the place I truly belong.

‘Patience is not acquiescence, or perpetual placidity…
Patience must be rooted in an overarching confidence that
there is Someone in control of this universe, our world, and
our life…A patient person knows the shortness of time and
the length of eternity.’ ~ Lloyd John Ogilvie

Heavy

Posted on by
image by Rebekah Choat

image by Rebekah Choat

That time
I thought I could not
go any closer to grief
without dying

I went closer,
and I did not die.
Surely God
had His hand in this,

as well as friends.
Still I was bent,
and my laughter,
as the poet said,

was nowhere to be found.
Then said my friend Daniel
(brave even among lions),
“It’s not the weight you carry

but how you carry it –
books, bricks, grief –
it’s all in the way
you embrace it, balance it, carry it

when you cannot, and would not,
put it down.”
So I went practicing.
Have you noticed?

Have you heard
the laughter
that comes, now and again,
out of my startled mouth?

How I linger
to admire, admire, admire
the things of this world
that are kind, and maybe

also troubled –
roses in the wind,
the sea geese on the steep waves,
a love
to which there is no reply?

~ Mary Oliver

Tuesday’s Word: encourage

Posted on by

encourage (v):

  • to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope:  hearten
  • to attempt to persuade:  urge
  • to spur on:  stimulate
  • to give help or patronage to:  foster
  • to give support, confidence, or hope to

courage (n):

  • the ability to do something that frightens one:  bravery
  • strength in the face of pain or grief
  • mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty

I’ve been pondering over the word encourage for the past couple weeks: what it means, how it’s done. I find it telling that the heart of the word is heart: cor (Latin), cuore (Italian), couer (French).  The truest, best encouragement comes from one whose heart is in tune with your heart, one who knows what fears you face, what challenges daunt you, what pain you bear.

One who would encourage doesn’t say, “I encourage you to go out and overcome your obstacles (or do a great work) (or persevere through enormous difficulty), and let me know when you’ve done it.”  A true encourager opens his own heart and says, “Here is the reason we have for hope.  I see in you the promise of glory.  Let us walk together, sharing our bravery and our strength.”

When I Am Among the Trees

Posted on by
image by Rebekah Choat

image by Rebekah Choat

When I Am Among the Trees
by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

A Thousand Mornings

Posted on by
image copyright Joel Brotzman 2013

image copyright Joel Brotzman 2013

A Thousand Mornings
by Mary Oliver

All night my heart makes its way
however it can over the rough ground
of uncertainties, but only until night
meets and then is overwhelmed by
morning, the light deepening, the
wind easing and just waiting, as I
too wait (and when have I ever been
disappointed?) for redbird to sing.

dawn takes forever…

Posted on by
photo by Chris Choat

photo by Chris Choat

Dawn takes forever some days.
the sky remains unchanged for hours,
oblivious to the ticking of the clock
growing louder each second.

It’s no use to sit and watch for it.
I know.  I’ve tried.

The best you can do is
go on about your business,
muddle through however you can in the dark,
until you are surprised, dazzled by the light.

~ Rebekah Choat