tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22511964593581193832024-03-05T00:49:16.575-08:00Pilgrim LettersChloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-24847352436285887062013-05-17T07:48:00.000-07:002013-05-17T07:48:33.339-07:00Gifts Wrapped in a Sling <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpMvFj6noHlcsLTsQd66kcRwVvMOga-cCURiOTXisgaD6s-OyqQ30NQpbpWVIx1YMH2PqeRktS4b1r81f3IIUg6DhyomUSSwXmcb7JX4j1l4LA5qCa5loJHFlS2kuPYu8rytLfnzfmU0/s1600/20130413_120642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">It's been six weeks
since I careened over the mountain edge, spent a whole day lying in the
hospital, waiting to be put back together. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr93ulANuffhZKMFulhNQ0vuN1kmBf-vPMijxf6G_-6zmC2bAsHAmtkE4jg6ETsasObmXFFB6_I_5XgISFxUjuEW61261zKA8JUPVlijbvsYjzfAo53bcifOnbdJzJkQ4GHgsAVeUHJdA/s1600/45315_10152675841790332_993319723_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbF02pW4KrP51cxiuIAGRFgFkrnZ8Kq5UY-49okP1g8-kJg4d-9SaqwgsPCcYKiOajU8b7JrIz9YYVbF3O4nE-PCJL36Xfwaz-bbe2xryj16RPUamXJS2Byv68pbmoRSbnEskccrllOtA/s1600/castle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbF02pW4KrP51cxiuIAGRFgFkrnZ8Kq5UY-49okP1g8-kJg4d-9SaqwgsPCcYKiOajU8b7JrIz9YYVbF3O4nE-PCJL36Xfwaz-bbe2xryj16RPUamXJS2Byv68pbmoRSbnEskccrllOtA/s1600/castle.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">And in that wait they
gave me oxygen, so I wouldn't hyperventilate; laughing gas, to relieve my brain
in the throbbing onslaught; then morphine to dull everything except its own set
of reaction pains. And finally, a sedative, clawing up my wrist till it
blackened my cognizance—all these inhaled, injected, dripped into my
circulating body. And they are gifts. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfd9K1YWs3RttIaWpm7RZKfhq-1Yb8cha_avxNPpv9Wm1QoSAOtLEdSg_4nRIB-gOGryUNSHxOSNEE1x9YMQxoiGn5sZesAtVFZLok7EwKCof3pG_vZksQeb7BwUbqv7VfRu8WS9a_t-0/s1600/gurney.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfd9K1YWs3RttIaWpm7RZKfhq-1Yb8cha_avxNPpv9Wm1QoSAOtLEdSg_4nRIB-gOGryUNSHxOSNEE1x9YMQxoiGn5sZesAtVFZLok7EwKCof3pG_vZksQeb7BwUbqv7VfRu8WS9a_t-0/s1600/gurney.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Joint re-hinged, they
put swollen limb in a fabric sling, just for a day or so. Elbow turns into
water balloon, and sleep comes light as I try to hold still. My landlady, who
doubles as spiritual grandmother, pins my hair back in the morning (bobby pins
do NOT work with one hand). And it is a gift.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPiAZ_3MDgvgY9hOEBlMqprQs6tI1THIvRKeTQKEpTXLXK98bTpM9htrogBg-Q5yxJSQ6EhI_8n08R3UR1ctVrsnb3KvZWiLKz4dUzi1cMsFoYaXZgiya3plbx527sWRN72SOE8nkPi8/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPiAZ_3MDgvgY9hOEBlMqprQs6tI1THIvRKeTQKEpTXLXK98bTpM9htrogBg-Q5yxJSQ6EhI_8n08R3UR1ctVrsnb3KvZWiLKz4dUzi1cMsFoYaXZgiya3plbx527sWRN72SOE8nkPi8/s320/IMG_0731.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> Beau stays with me
all day in hospital, then takes the next day off to help me buy groceries and
fill anti-inflammatory prescription. Not a coincidence that we're shopping the
first Tuesday of the month, and save 15%. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpMvFj6noHlcsLTsQd66kcRwVvMOga-cCURiOTXisgaD6s-OyqQ30NQpbpWVIx1YMH2PqeRktS4b1r81f3IIUg6DhyomUSSwXmcb7JX4j1l4LA5qCa5loJHFlS2kuPYu8rytLfnzfmU0/s1600/20130413_120642.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpMvFj6noHlcsLTsQd66kcRwVvMOga-cCURiOTXisgaD6s-OyqQ30NQpbpWVIx1YMH2PqeRktS4b1r81f3IIUg6DhyomUSSwXmcb7JX4j1l4LA5qCa5loJHFlS2kuPYu8rytLfnzfmU0/s320/20130413_120642.jpg" width="240" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">My office landlord
extends grace, and chooses gratitude for the timing of it all. It's no
coincidence that the secretary goes on holidays and he needs a fill-in right
when I'm unable to work <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my</i> job. And
I'm humbled, and fairly cry when he tells me he won't charge me rent this
month. And he'll pay me more than we bargained on. And telling the happy news
helps me share the gift, and the joy. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlgpisOx658vRTU2ibvgTZU6gMU_aNvXJU9rV_ZdzXmrwwbZyjkN5KQSJnoZeckuuyDVrzVtQC7fLFxTr_aihLDHhpAMso28CIBfYsryizhvCBgJqhDhKtZvDqNl0U1FkGmDT9NM_Dt0/s1600/IMG_0736.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlgpisOx658vRTU2ibvgTZU6gMU_aNvXJU9rV_ZdzXmrwwbZyjkN5KQSJnoZeckuuyDVrzVtQC7fLFxTr_aihLDHhpAMso28CIBfYsryizhvCBgJqhDhKtZvDqNl0U1FkGmDT9NM_Dt0/s320/IMG_0736.JPG" width="240" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">And the . . . <i>pain </i>of healing, the
humiliating <i>time</i> it takes. Is this too, a gift? Sharp knife telling me
when I've pushed too far; protective spasm and scar tissue needing released;
the exercises and grimaces and tears. The wondering if I will ever regain
movement, or if I will always have a gimped wing; looking with longing at
people who can tuck hair behind ear, brush teeth, carry babies with their arm .
. . do they have any idea of the GIFT they carry in a functional limb? And the
thought that mine <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could </i>heal, is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">designed</i> to heal, that I have this hope
of recovery. Some people don’t. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIHuqHSALF_6ayiecAkuA4-hsNFy1owyQjIKbb-f4ezzpm6Qn4-FaZmqWYqLCbfVsfYa5OQUWSySd1CQxvPDXMaSulcYj42p48tQ60hT2zo0a0dNbLmdhGF2FNXACWgCSrOvqXKcRNt4/s1600/sling.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIHuqHSALF_6ayiecAkuA4-hsNFy1owyQjIKbb-f4ezzpm6Qn4-FaZmqWYqLCbfVsfYa5OQUWSySd1CQxvPDXMaSulcYj42p48tQ60hT2zo0a0dNbLmdhGF2FNXACWgCSrOvqXKcRNt4/s1600/sling.jpg" /></a></span> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The perpetually truant ambulance bill, making me
wonder if I would receive one at all. And it’s no coincidence that I’m back to
work for three weeks and finish a massive contract job before the invoice
arrives in my mailbox. And it is a gift. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLqj255QuxQ9OksAJlvNZlpiaCAIzuPuDdGpB6X97VMqHZyJOBITWfs8e9_auy10Uv5aI1vCparfl7d-GztOmlrxf9yhObBHErCJSzNErDUtAtJ13CYp-G_kHUTni5jD_mXs_vwyqwEQ/s1600/ambulance.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLqj255QuxQ9OksAJlvNZlpiaCAIzuPuDdGpB6X97VMqHZyJOBITWfs8e9_auy10Uv5aI1vCparfl7d-GztOmlrxf9yhObBHErCJSzNErDUtAtJ13CYp-G_kHUTni5jD_mXs_vwyqwEQ/s1600/ambulance.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Clients who wait for me to return, welcome me
back, cheer me on, even when they wince under my renewing strength: these are
presents from my loving God. Longstanding projects scratched forever off my
to-do list in the few days I have completely off leave me feeling light. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr93ulANuffhZKMFulhNQ0vuN1kmBf-vPMijxf6G_-6zmC2bAsHAmtkE4jg6ETsasObmXFFB6_I_5XgISFxUjuEW61261zKA8JUPVlijbvsYjzfAo53bcifOnbdJzJkQ4GHgsAVeUHJdA/s1600/45315_10152675841790332_993319723_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr93ulANuffhZKMFulhNQ0vuN1kmBf-vPMijxf6G_-6zmC2bAsHAmtkE4jg6ETsasObmXFFB6_I_5XgISFxUjuEW61261zKA8JUPVlijbvsYjzfAo53bcifOnbdJzJkQ4GHgsAVeUHJdA/s1600/45315_10152675841790332_993319723_n.jpg" /></a></span> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">And this wait of hope, this is a gift. I think
of the tastes of resurrection power I can feast on, in these appetizers of God’s
grace, these morsels of tender love, these party favour GIFTS of mercy. And I
wonder how the giving of thanks, instead of the begrudging of obvious,
humiliating need, is in itself, a gift. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">And I thank the Giver, Who wraps treasures in
elbow slings. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Some photos from Google images </span></div>
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Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-79869339698415135152013-04-16T20:34:00.001-07:002013-04-16T20:34:53.686-07:00Grace in the snowfence<div class="gmail_quote" style="text-align: center;">
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The
day begins perfect, a last ski trip for the season. And we are
excited.The lift beckons us up into glory, and the sun's warm caress
promises a good day. The icy crust increases our speed, but I am too
novice to be very concerned. I will just keep it where I can handle it.
Nerves will quiet once the snow softens and I find my groove. <i>This is
just the beginning of the day. </i><b>And that's when it falls apart. </b>Too
novice to know how to manage the crusty speed, I can't catch an edge
turning on the traverse, and barrel over the mountain's side.<br />
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In the time it takes to say "Oh no!" I careen
over the edge into the snowfence, where my skis tangle, and the rest of
me hangs upside down on the steep decline. My right forearm flung in a
bionic angle, and my first thought pierces through the pain, "Oh God! I
can't work!" <br />
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Minutes float weightless, yet time seems to stall; and
I'm caught in this sphere of spasmed sensation. I cry, and call for
help, but know I will not be heard. Crusty snow is too loud and the hill
too empty. And shock arrives and takes control. I have to climb up to
find help. I coach myself aloud, and whimper in my pathetic state. Flop
injured arm across body. Cry out pain. Pull foot out of boot. Insert
stocking foot into crusted snow. Crawl under mangled snowfence. Pinch
bindings to free other foot from the ski. Climb up to the ledge. <br />
</div>
A thousand thoughts swirl into my mind, but find no resting
place. Pain glazes every landing surface like a shellac, and locks my
mind's attention on the throbbing issue at hand. <b>And shock is a gift. </b></div>
<div>
<br /><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_aL2pmKDKhi7wuGjT-pw6raqcDhyphenhyphenQiBbTAgj1qfaXaYJWAiW6np1kEaLQriWoK_HoNkWninkMtOn5rw8kwuXUvZmHXZyzysqVTT7-zTljSxIliBOpy5f8AgY23IMofXV0-edb-mde-bc/s1600/IMG_0730.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_aL2pmKDKhi7wuGjT-pw6raqcDhyphenhyphenQiBbTAgj1qfaXaYJWAiW6np1kEaLQriWoK_HoNkWninkMtOn5rw8kwuXUvZmHXZyzysqVTT7-zTljSxIliBOpy5f8AgY23IMofXV0-edb-mde-bc/s320/IMG_0730.JPG" width="239" /></a><br />
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I hear boarders whiz by, reverberating loud on the icy surface. I
call for help and keep climbing up. One boarder stops, and comes back to
help me. I crawl to the traverse edge, and sit crumpled in the snow,
<i>amazed at how pain can be so numbing</i>, worried for all the borrowed
equipment still down the precipice. He gathers the items, and I see my
boyfriend skiing up the traverse towards me. My delayed arrival at the
lift told him something was wrong, so he came back to find me. And I
will be okay. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Am9j8ICR2l-AJijYl0eaeih4zhKFtzPjBSHm1fSFaIVzuffPm40YYv0T0_KeH7KeNUljUdFf5gxZyQq72LS9E7IVWNvRHaaeZIqzncGs11vWX_1yiwpBhRzpfF9ZSUVkG6Bc2gdNn3Q/s1600/IMG_0732.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Am9j8ICR2l-AJijYl0eaeih4zhKFtzPjBSHm1fSFaIVzuffPm40YYv0T0_KeH7KeNUljUdFf5gxZyQq72LS9E7IVWNvRHaaeZIqzncGs11vWX_1yiwpBhRzpfF9ZSUVkG6Bc2gdNn3Q/s320/IMG_0732.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Ski patrol arrives, and I wish to pass out and be relieved
from the pain. The toboggan ride down, the wait for the ambulance to
arrive, while waves of embarrassment, shock, and gratitude wash over me.
My mind reels ahead, to all the work calls I will have to make, to all
the questions about how long before I can work again. <b><i>But I am here,
and can only deal with what happens here and now. </i>And grace is enough
for NOW.</b></div>
<div>
<br /><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXrRC4O8beJ3cZQ0TKYKOIAyFqXzj9sOh_kKz9hO2ZpICsKT_IGAwdekutnR9bU7_75ECiYckryNCVOnlC40BmxLC2lNYHx14rw8u8tYZqZTeTUz9oEZwWRU1FLPzUwhtdWGCQA13-vw/s1600/IMG_0729.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXrRC4O8beJ3cZQ0TKYKOIAyFqXzj9sOh_kKz9hO2ZpICsKT_IGAwdekutnR9bU7_75ECiYckryNCVOnlC40BmxLC2lNYHx14rw8u8tYZqZTeTUz9oEZwWRU1FLPzUwhtdWGCQA13-vw/s320/IMG_0729.JPG" width="320" /></a>
</b></div>
<div>
So I ride in ambulance and inhale laughing gas. And I
wait as throbbing turns to locked spasm. And I gasp pain to rotate my
arm for X-rays. And the diagnosis "dislocation" sets my mind happy. It
could have been so much worse. </div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRibSdgNz27b0L0ithpKXmk3q0LEJUNHCMUgtsEVNr05IWlCWuwls1d2DiqZZLLt6QtzKzypu8n2D9v86hCJCxYdyOCRT4nHCFFRQDw1F4bG89SvBUW_I2xcomE9_aEA0fBeoYxEC0E8/s1600/IMG_0733.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRibSdgNz27b0L0ithpKXmk3q0LEJUNHCMUgtsEVNr05IWlCWuwls1d2DiqZZLLt6QtzKzypu8n2D9v86hCJCxYdyOCRT4nHCFFRQDw1F4bG89SvBUW_I2xcomE9_aEA0fBeoYxEC0E8/s320/IMG_0733.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
</div>
<div>
And there's nothing to do but wait: for morphine to kick in, then to run its course <i>out</i>
of my system, for the doctor to set the elbow, for the sedative to wear
off, for me to stop shaking, for our friends to pick us up.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div class="im">
<div>
And I'm never alone. In this weakness and
truncated state, I'm surrounded with love and mercy. <b><i>And there's nothing
to do but rest in it. </i></b></div>
<div>
<b><i></i></b></div>
<div>
<br /><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQQ3-2uKIIvysNSD9fc_zs4tauQhqsbpMaIc3SdltfwUnZ6A5OQohaBx8zgaQU0nOg4xsS_w5V1zKwtMesYbG5nLhX64ONML-19T8eVu-cKU0EKwTbFcJse3mWNE7SXB5VJPKvu1RogY/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQQ3-2uKIIvysNSD9fc_zs4tauQhqsbpMaIc3SdltfwUnZ6A5OQohaBx8zgaQU0nOg4xsS_w5V1zKwtMesYbG5nLhX64ONML-19T8eVu-cKU0EKwTbFcJse3mWNE7SXB5VJPKvu1RogY/s320/IMG_0731.JPG" width="320" /></a></i></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<b>And the gifts begin to
flow</b>: more than I can number. People stationed perfectly, who go out of
their way to care for me, clients understanding and wishing me well
while they wait for me to recover, filling in for the secretary at the
office. <i>Ah yes, and work is a gift, and time off is a gift.</i> Several days
to finally cross off lingering projects on the backburner list, and
happiness to know life now has room for change. <div class="yj6qo ajU">
<div class="ajR" data-tooltip="Hide expanded content" id=":a5" role="button" tabindex="0">
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</div>
<div class="adL">
</div>
</div>
<div class="im adL">
<div>
It's a <b>forced Sabbath;</b> the best
gift I could have asked for. I didn't know how much I needed it till it
was given to me, wrapped in pain and a snowfence. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And I'm still counting the endless gits of this grace . . . . <div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-29231708188880266412013-02-07T07:38:00.001-08:002013-02-07T07:38:43.608-08:00The Little Big Deal<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The breathing fence
stands basic and simple across our path. So we must jump it to walk on. No big
deal. Except that in sailing over, signals fire confused, the mind unsure how
to navigate, and I land tumbled. No big deal. Except that a horrible crunching
pop murmurs from ankle which bore full impact of my falling body. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoyZtmFh1CfEdpTdZnlxqrpJXLEIOfNZhYm6ZVNz84g91e3GQBhVv9vxrR4S2BMuE6M-DU-OBrfPB_ZKeAAn9R985Wp6Kdj-ijekfmOn0ZP7DX-3hE9Tirz0eNvOWffYBo_nGHrrUYhuk/s1600/fence+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoyZtmFh1CfEdpTdZnlxqrpJXLEIOfNZhYm6ZVNz84g91e3GQBhVv9vxrR4S2BMuE6M-DU-OBrfPB_ZKeAAn9R985Wp6Kdj-ijekfmOn0ZP7DX-3hE9Tirz0eNvOWffYBo_nGHrrUYhuk/s1600/fence+2.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Immediate stiffness,
numbing pain, and the mortifying embarrassment of the reality I now limp in: I
just sprained my ankle. But it’s no big deal. I can still walk . . . hobble. I
lean on his arm, and we shift home. My mind starts spinning . . . all the
clients scheduled for the next days, and how I’ve nowhere to rebook them, and
how I can’t run in the mornings now, and how awkward this oozing bulge feels. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And a new lens slides
into place ahead of my eyes, and all the world looks different through this
awkward healing. I awake to thoughts yet un-contemplated, and gifts yet
unrealized . . . . the little big deals. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2PsY2g_wtdkRY_5AWHN60PycSAvTmLgrrUeilcVVm1Zk_1ZhG63pypHme7g-NAP9BRNkMU6OtKj8-5OSdgeekriale8fXdAmtXlG5qPlc1D_BhfbAzc29UkNuuRlR3oZ9k-E5PAgFh0/s1600/snowy+lane.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2PsY2g_wtdkRY_5AWHN60PycSAvTmLgrrUeilcVVm1Zk_1ZhG63pypHme7g-NAP9BRNkMU6OtKj8-5OSdgeekriale8fXdAmtXlG5qPlc1D_BhfbAzc29UkNuuRlR3oZ9k-E5PAgFh0/s1600/snowy+lane.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I watch graceful pedestrians
stride across intersection! I didn’t think there was glory in walking un-gimped,
until I lilted. How amazing the coordination of a skateboarder, swinging leg
wild as he propels headlong down the sidewalk. Does he know the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">glory</i> he’s breathing? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">How fabulous the body’s
capacity to heal! And what wonder to think I will be made well again. I drive past
old men hobbling behind walkers. What humiliation to age and sink decrepit from
prowess and physical usefulness. And I think . . . we must be <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">so much more</b> than just a body, because
giving does not stop when the body stops, and living does not cease when a part
loses function. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9er2Ft7RfU7OJTSZhpncMHFS6kOleFbjP0lFGmupt9pvapQCTHZpX4jPWwGCrqtbVJapbL1_KKWM81hEoLdQYyCGy-kRSWnVYXNY50uH1oJKBaZP4KPcZRfxI8yOxCgrW6eeNa_o3y4/s1600/tensor+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9er2Ft7RfU7OJTSZhpncMHFS6kOleFbjP0lFGmupt9pvapQCTHZpX4jPWwGCrqtbVJapbL1_KKWM81hEoLdQYyCGy-kRSWnVYXNY50uH1oJKBaZP4KPcZRfxI8yOxCgrW6eeNa_o3y4/s1600/tensor+2.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And how do we grapple
with life when we fall, and bodies fall apart, and our world crumbles into
helpless bits before our eyes? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What of
these little deals that loom impossibly large? And the big deals we lose in periphery
when we focus on stuff that doesn’t really matter?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I see the middle-aged
homeless man taking swinging, syncopated steps. How long has he limped so
severe? What does he hope for life now? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
will he make with what he has been given?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And me? What have I
been given? <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Grace</i></b>. The hand to hold me, the shoulder to cry safe on, the
shared tools for healing, the extra assistance and labours of love . . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for me! And who am I to receive this? I could
not earn these mercies, could not deserve this tenderness in light of my
foolishness. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjNRlHW5YsiI9zP4wY3MEiTNSGuoitJZhiNYvPOY59EBqS5vNugd9ojdIdjcsaKgJx0dPmFBNY_sVxZCMsb7gkWWt8lqNrJdevNZ577WShvcZxdAq62NoNUaciPkNF0sKAitTt2K0xAs/s1600/tensor+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjNRlHW5YsiI9zP4wY3MEiTNSGuoitJZhiNYvPOY59EBqS5vNugd9ojdIdjcsaKgJx0dPmFBNY_sVxZCMsb7gkWWt8lqNrJdevNZ577WShvcZxdAq62NoNUaciPkNF0sKAitTt2K0xAs/s1600/tensor+1.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Grace cannot be
earned. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The greatest gift, and deepest
mystery.</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That I, who don’t deserve,
HAVE been graced with this life, this pain, this poignancy to feel and see and
love and live deeper. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And it is a gift.</b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyFcs3hGbjJvE1xamR0bnVN3k-N0BRJuF2yXwRhyphenhyphenzQ-QC8WN2aRRExinm5FUMfwStFiDFQe0cbVEkhBer90JyosYv-hBKHqbUuOMLXrJkzJoOYpqOZ5V12VtRq8sg1PlCVLbnjZ5wOdM/s1600/winter+fence.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyFcs3hGbjJvE1xamR0bnVN3k-N0BRJuF2yXwRhyphenhyphenzQ-QC8WN2aRRExinm5FUMfwStFiDFQe0cbVEkhBer90JyosYv-hBKHqbUuOMLXrJkzJoOYpqOZ5V12VtRq8sg1PlCVLbnjZ5wOdM/s1600/winter+fence.jpg" /></a> </b>
</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And I open hand and
say Thank You. And I too,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> even I</b>,
can <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">give this grace gift back to the
Giver</b>, and spill it out on an aching world, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">even in the simple gift of laughing at myself.</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Because Grace brings
it all into perspective. And grace IS the big deal. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-11043065112907142152013-02-01T06:03:00.000-08:002013-02-01T06:03:30.610-08:00Beta Redemption<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It began with routine,
the normal cleaning of his tank. And all miracles and tragedies begin this
way—in the ordinary grime and rhythm of pedantic life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_GuV9tGnoGP6YbSImKNFtLv42dK9AvoAe-HFVhTVMrENxrRng2CuKy7K-D_xspKi4iH3TDdX3T5y77dv_OqCzGYyzi6cR7eQce1vStkQRVkvm7dQYtglxf2bP04UTPgagMDXSIksuEY/s1600/IMG_0542.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_GuV9tGnoGP6YbSImKNFtLv42dK9AvoAe-HFVhTVMrENxrRng2CuKy7K-D_xspKi4iH3TDdX3T5y77dv_OqCzGYyzi6cR7eQce1vStkQRVkvm7dQYtglxf2bP04UTPgagMDXSIksuEY/s320/IMG_0542.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But today, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">status quo</i> shifted. The smallest nudge rivets
vase and sends it shattered across counter and floor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His little world crashes, but he is safe,
roaming the neighbourhood of a kitchen bowl. Does he <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">know</b> that all has fallen to pieces, that shards of his small realm slit
Owner’s hand and draw liquid pain—a clean laceration leaking life? Does he <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">care </b>that his realm cannot be restored,
that a new world must be purchased for him to keep living? No, he floats oblivious
to the reality outside his three-cups-of-water existence. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBGBgOUzhkyqxjK-WoLmb3y-oGtMpKxqTbz9JSujJ4n5v08wdRx7KHzaP4u86Xg3Y5anB5J82zQZMCn2xptgaClspQYcnooU_apIPo-JAUJhtBUyf58i9HjhQvBGByVLoMxtbnv_A_tI/s1600/IMG_0541.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBGBgOUzhkyqxjK-WoLmb3y-oGtMpKxqTbz9JSujJ4n5v08wdRx7KHzaP4u86Xg3Y5anB5J82zQZMCn2xptgaClspQYcnooU_apIPo-JAUJhtBUyf58i9HjhQvBGByVLoMxtbnv_A_tI/s320/IMG_0541.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And don’t we insulate
ourselves, so we are not touched by the crashes, the cuttings, the cataclysmic
upsets of our world? Don’t we cushion and distance and Styrofoam-peanut
ourselves into a protected living coffin . . . . safe from the dangers of life?
All the while, we ignore the pathetic un-life of our existence. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sometimes, whether on
purpose or “accident”, our perfectly sufficient, boringly normal lives require deep
shaking, so we realize that it is not <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">circumstances</b>
that define our reality, but <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Redemption.</b>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And so it happens,
that in the transfer to the newly purchased world, he falls.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Falls utterly</b>. Out of water and hand
and bowl and all that’s remotely familiar. Falls through suffocating air into a
mausoleum—sink drain encloses him on every side, Owner unable to grasp his wriggling
mass, he flails onto sieve, suspended, trapped, sentenced to die in the void. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDl8ST0-4CL5PdI974Fqdy24vlTVXH5F5OzHtY4PKdc_ZDAdNDCE3hwsAxUelcbWbT_WeSYRpZB3ZGuKDlfllr5h-Lmdt3nF_BBdVL06gP8x21aHhaAfaeby_ae2MejTsljKkG3LxMKDQ/s1600/IMG_0539.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDl8ST0-4CL5PdI974Fqdy24vlTVXH5F5OzHtY4PKdc_ZDAdNDCE3hwsAxUelcbWbT_WeSYRpZB3ZGuKDlfllr5h-Lmdt3nF_BBdVL06gP8x21aHhaAfaeby_ae2MejTsljKkG3LxMKDQ/s320/IMG_0539.JPG" width="239" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Owner scrambles for
tools, to wrest free the drain nuts. He runs water, washing the victim with
life. Finally loosened, the opened drain reveals a terrible problem: two sieves
separated by an impenetrable distance, and the dying pet stranded on the
further rack. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And what else can be
done for the helpless one? Water now spills into bucket under the sink,
defacing the immaculate scene. The carnage waits hopeless and still. He will
die. He will rot. His corpse eased through the sieve holes by eventual decomposition.
And all seems lost. Owner says goodbye and walks away. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL_PMLegummJeyY0WyEeTnx6pO-M1r4kDKut3Wrl-sOahB_09JD1tKZBe0-Yv0rxaEjk2QsB3dGRHgvs7qaE4oUOUaJo8myeVMXK4IWoxYNRtejgzMm5g33qW6eWnLEqnZ3RW7M0Efq4/s1600/IMG_0538.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL_PMLegummJeyY0WyEeTnx6pO-M1r4kDKut3Wrl-sOahB_09JD1tKZBe0-Yv0rxaEjk2QsB3dGRHgvs7qaE4oUOUaJo8myeVMXK4IWoxYNRtejgzMm5g33qW6eWnLEqnZ3RW7M0Efq4/s320/IMG_0538.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But in the minutes where
life ebbs out, LIFE reawakens. And he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stirs</i>,
perhaps shuddering at inevitable fate looming. But it is enough. Owner sees the
struggle, and ignites into furious rescue. Running upstairs to find <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">different</b> tools, rushing back, heedless
of the mess and danger; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">bending low to bring
freedom. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9kRq1oJreGP41KFuZWFCwCQSNMVhJnfOG3tk2LmxhcIoVwDUhrevYlLaE45PUMhyphenhyphenrc2a-S8BWWsZHeQDgB_2hne7KKSz_s1UbfqmgYIsdqUs7M1fTzKUeawshfmu0xeccqhc375aHzo/s1600/IMG_0540.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9kRq1oJreGP41KFuZWFCwCQSNMVhJnfOG3tk2LmxhcIoVwDUhrevYlLaE45PUMhyphenhyphenrc2a-S8BWWsZHeQDgB_2hne7KKSz_s1UbfqmgYIsdqUs7M1fTzKUeawshfmu0xeccqhc375aHzo/s320/IMG_0540.JPG" width="239" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And he is found! Owner
reaches him, grabs him, and it hurts utterly, but brush with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">LIFE</b> can hurt more than brush with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DEATH</b>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And he is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SAFE</b> . . . though he cannot know it
yet. Owner places him in new tank, and he lays dazed and weak in the sweet embrace
of water. Paralyzed by terror, ache, and hope realized, he remains immobile.
But his gills begin fluttering, and vitality courses miniature in his frame. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Owner puts the world
back together, and waits. And Owner sleeps sound, and rescued one <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">rests to life</b> again. And in the
morning, he devours offered food, and flourishes his plume in this new world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And all returns to
normal . . . but all has completely changed. And life cannot look the same, because
the vase is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">different</i>, because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">blood was lost</i>, because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tragedy struck</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">redemption rescued</i>, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">life was meant to be lived in this wonder. </i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJj9Y5OcO_YMHeYLOpohldpG_2Vc3bJs-1o0O-5AuYb56BoVemEMKsSSQpBCiop41OCBnZF_q_D587Gxzf1fE0h3Zz9akOMX_Q7qquUfNssj9l_OviP885MCzXSVCrxDijYDlowQZcDY/s1600/IMG_0543.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJj9Y5OcO_YMHeYLOpohldpG_2Vc3bJs-1o0O-5AuYb56BoVemEMKsSSQpBCiop41OCBnZF_q_D587Gxzf1fE0h3Zz9akOMX_Q7qquUfNssj9l_OviP885MCzXSVCrxDijYDlowQZcDY/s320/IMG_0543.JPG" width="239" /></a> </i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Thomas is a Beta fish,
but his life teaches. And him simply living and eating and swimming happy shows
off his owner’s goodness. The difference between us and him isn’t so much
circumstance or genus . . . it’s<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> choice</b>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We have <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CHOICE </b>to sing for our Maker. And
Redemption ignites our forever song. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Photos courtesy of Owner </span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-53746513889847955562013-01-24T07:58:00.004-08:002013-01-24T07:58:49.591-08:00To recall a pen . . . <div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I complete another
list to one thousand of the never-ending gifts, and start in again at number
one. I begin a new journal, an inch of perfectly blank pages waiting, aching,
to be filled. No time to watercolour these days; it’s all I can do to scrawl
words, most of them not my own. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DzK5zk1lwxs8RaAmBY7NtffvO0ZcyqLCoz-uqS75lUTy-jaK-EkAlpP7dl3uvyHl4i4KhoQGmjE8jZHWinW1VGcAG0ULzdEpitf3aFnOp0fCA_wI45X6c94BnYhWrfcqux9o8Xod2d4/s1600/pen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DzK5zk1lwxs8RaAmBY7NtffvO0ZcyqLCoz-uqS75lUTy-jaK-EkAlpP7dl3uvyHl4i4KhoQGmjE8jZHWinW1VGcAG0ULzdEpitf3aFnOp0fCA_wI45X6c94BnYhWrfcqux9o8Xod2d4/s1600/pen.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Thoughts come as
impression, with colour and taste and dimension, but all in cloud and light
haze . . . just beyond the reach of logic and deduction. So while I wait for
words, the Words of my God comfort my soul, even when I trust feeble and doubt
the power of the words I copy. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Does writing the Word
make us believe it? Seldom do the flashing epiphanies release and burn and heal
all in a moment. Rare that light bursts through and dispels all known darkness.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writing does not transform; copying does
not equate consciously living the Daily Bread. But it <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">initiates</i> absorption</b>. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Light comes most often
through the pin-prick holes, the gaping chasms, the “all that’s wrong and
unfixed and embarrassing and wordless” vents of my soul, where wind sweeps
through and stirs cobwebs, and brushes clean, and casts up dirt, and lets me
know I need, that at my best, I am a beggar. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWpBF3K8FxXyzTZ6KMx7D4damfjasTtMCx7H_6CgMJ9fJ_szGWJj6FI2H5XPesPkDGjmlfiYlHaTvZ2S8MmQJvxmCa9UNMVjZHPDtazdvyCoYUxIwyFSjOCzgXUcRhdXqILu9cisKahY/s1600/frozen+flower.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_97FPIBXNNtvfLdmjVXP1__S1PGQ8BaxwFaKE61eVcJfBODJ7ixVff7koKKKALb6ZmuYSBlabmfeTbmJHqMXJ4GvoCInBIBqc-CaVpK0DiWXMRbVGWM8mwSoarQ8urmf_k_370nbMq0/s1600/grass.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_97FPIBXNNtvfLdmjVXP1__S1PGQ8BaxwFaKE61eVcJfBODJ7ixVff7koKKKALb6ZmuYSBlabmfeTbmJHqMXJ4GvoCInBIBqc-CaVpK0DiWXMRbVGWM8mwSoarQ8urmf_k_370nbMq0/s1600/grass.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So I write Word,
because this is what I know to be True, even when I doubt it, even when I don’t
live it, even when I can’t see or feel change as a result of its recitation. At
the end of the day, this is what God has given, God Who spoke the world into
being with Words, Who came as WORD made flesh, Who lives Word through my flesh,
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">because all lives to fulfill His Word.</b>
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And I write prayer,
the echoed impressions of soul, barely audible. Sometimes confident and
soaring, sometimes whimpering in terrible pain, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">always quiet as a pen stroke.</i> And does writing prayer, responding
to the Words of God make me<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> believe</b>
what I pray, make me confident and happy and at ease with all in life? Infrequent
my recollections of morning requests for glory and grace. My concentration span
wanders down other corridors instead. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQleqLlhB9bw38RJVvobWv_auoCcSAKJEclNFt9n1YHYkYMy_YZHJUhq7t55WY5JaRMvuPjUFSKhL-kwdIDiWpGWz4Go_OW4m9RFzF6ScPso2uBFQLshiTOtt6zeaZqdPhhTBEBzXl4ZA/s1600/writing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQleqLlhB9bw38RJVvobWv_auoCcSAKJEclNFt9n1YHYkYMy_YZHJUhq7t55WY5JaRMvuPjUFSKhL-kwdIDiWpGWz4Go_OW4m9RFzF6ScPso2uBFQLshiTOtt6zeaZqdPhhTBEBzXl4ZA/s1600/writing.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Writing Word, writing
prayer . . . I do not notice the instant change, but it alters <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">memory. </i>I write, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">because I forget,</b> because <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I
want to remember something good.</b> And when I look back, I remember what I
felt. The soul impressions linger, but the words are what I recall. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And memory alters
belief. When I look back over scribble and struggle, I see the Words He spoke
in my wordless groanings. And in His Words, I trace His way, and find my path. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We have a choice in
what we remember. How else could we block painful memories? Why else do we reminisce
past occasions, over and over, till they are perfect and golden and untainted? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXg8LoDQE7POOO7jzjBDz7ncv0KBFNybUaw7CfgknmYRrGulzX-Z4o58qk7wDvNDR_-U-24-AKxl4SnkeB2Qd1_CQ9qgx5nVm654slxCA_EeSn7GcaOLtkdvnWMajInS4DeTryv4z7WE/s1600/wheat+hoarfrost.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXg8LoDQE7POOO7jzjBDz7ncv0KBFNybUaw7CfgknmYRrGulzX-Z4o58qk7wDvNDR_-U-24-AKxl4SnkeB2Qd1_CQ9qgx5nVm654slxCA_EeSn7GcaOLtkdvnWMajInS4DeTryv4z7WE/s1600/wheat+hoarfrost.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We write, so we can
remember . . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and for all coming
behind, what better gift to leave than the WORD, interlaced in life’s pain and flummox,
the stabilizing thread holding us together? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“The grass withers,
the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR275ITOvi6_qMnCcVcANWqOVb9vSjISaL9R5YcpfUVMXFQt6Svhtk6yLURtBIC8zi5ga2Tu1kVxXVzGuVAV_uyF4PsJYCBoFKk0c7JSbpsoiDfOn7Lfg5fbOKShumDdmXYo66Y2pdfCQ/s1600/flowers+hoarfrost.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR275ITOvi6_qMnCcVcANWqOVb9vSjISaL9R5YcpfUVMXFQt6Svhtk6yLURtBIC8zi5ga2Tu1kVxXVzGuVAV_uyF4PsJYCBoFKk0c7JSbpsoiDfOn7Lfg5fbOKShumDdmXYo66Y2pdfCQ/s1600/flowers+hoarfrost.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-3353781200662456772013-01-18T07:38:00.001-08:002013-01-18T07:38:33.694-08:00African Grace<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Five years ago, I woke
to African winter, the Moroccan chill persisting heavy in the tile-floored,
plaster-walled apartment building. That sour smell, tannery leather, permeating
the air by the closets and doors, where pointed slippers waited for children’s
feet. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The sing-song, harsh
Arabic, spoken rapid and forthright. The broken English of flirting men (and
aren’t we all broken, not knowing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what</i>
we want, aware only of our hunger, and our pulsating wish to be happy?).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyro8NtS5bCHM4XJv5ylIYSexw1Q0K5-SAwsflFifksNJyZDaF6aUDyKKSKqznDHgjJFJq60N84_r4tlKSmFhinhw00m_rBNzWtuFfqXbFeKUqZNFPKBwRFWDp468QIAgfQTCOyllwBMw/s1600/CIMG0144.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyro8NtS5bCHM4XJv5ylIYSexw1Q0K5-SAwsflFifksNJyZDaF6aUDyKKSKqznDHgjJFJq60N84_r4tlKSmFhinhw00m_rBNzWtuFfqXbFeKUqZNFPKBwRFWDp468QIAgfQTCOyllwBMw/s320/CIMG0144.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Rounded woman walk
with rounded steps in flour-sack jelabas, traditional garb meant to preserve
modesty and prevent lust. (And don’t we all cover up our warped-ness? The
inexplicable mix of good and bad wrapped in our souls, aching to be sorted and
set right . . . and we cover and compensate to protect ourselves and others
from our brokenness.) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhke-h5bklpkln5J09bKcEYk6vNKHNKtQ4kILt8X9hDugu2BGT8o2XKxFHl43sVQEmQ61VCJ97klYLPOkcQkNZCv_caDq5-M-FtNiF75XYGhCluuIrFKJpXmfZd777O9EY5tG5dc4uoV6k/s1600/P1000624.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhke-h5bklpkln5J09bKcEYk6vNKHNKtQ4kILt8X9hDugu2BGT8o2XKxFHl43sVQEmQ61VCJ97klYLPOkcQkNZCv_caDq5-M-FtNiF75XYGhCluuIrFKJpXmfZd777O9EY5tG5dc4uoV6k/s320/P1000624.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Bagged garbage plopped
on corners and edges of wide cobbled sidewalks waits removal . . . sometime.
This cultural mindset does not make room for proactive stewardship and
preventative measures—it’s fatalism all over, and life does not stand much chance
of getting better. (And don’t we pile soul garbage along the edge of our heart
pathways, just so long as we have room to squeeze by and still function, we
consider ourselves okay? And all the trash we don’t know what to do with, and
the stuff that clutters, we hope Someone can clear away or recycle . . . before
summer heat makes it stink). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkc2GT9Gpg1yLGaNbg0oSIdb6mVQpmu-bqIInKJ2ndixyRR2PL2Zg09xN4RrCvPtbQQ3ocGDtmZeSTB-9DMGC-SsdX6hOdjYocEvjy3l9K4OV7sEENwbb9vXrWQ0eAlItC3-B_ztMSxY/s1600/_MG_6208.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkc2GT9Gpg1yLGaNbg0oSIdb6mVQpmu-bqIInKJ2ndixyRR2PL2Zg09xN4RrCvPtbQQ3ocGDtmZeSTB-9DMGC-SsdX6hOdjYocEvjy3l9K4OV7sEENwbb9vXrWQ0eAlItC3-B_ztMSxY/s320/_MG_6208.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Black eyes stare wide
behind ebony lashes, gawking at the fairer-skinned, blue and green and
brown-eyed children walking with me. (And don’t we find the unknown, un-possessed,
un-assumed beauty entrancing? How often we look so far out of our league to compare,
that we miss the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">humbling, ordinary
beauty of grace</b>, the whisper of mercy, spoken over us every moment? And don’t
we cheapen our potential for happiness by always looking at someone else, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">instead of looking into the eyes of the
SOMEONE Who made us</b>, and freely offers us life in His hands? And what grief
we inflict when we refuse His gifts, His outstretched hand, because His hands
were torn with nails and scratched deep with thorns, and to receive from Him means
receiving pain AND joy as gifts. Receiving means to Trust <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Him</b> more than trust the gift. And we’d rather not take the risk). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAwfbHJ6a_xMQcWUBVVqHt1Q2D-AFs5oK3KFpGUato4LjelwSokSdIPNn3T2TlZ40P__UnsM9ri9EeEqv1Bpr2v8J6zVDGObob42HCWjBnYZ3sOaXonjGtOtLAUFiaHA-luf6ah4qtTU/s1600/_MG_5436.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAwfbHJ6a_xMQcWUBVVqHt1Q2D-AFs5oK3KFpGUato4LjelwSokSdIPNn3T2TlZ40P__UnsM9ri9EeEqv1Bpr2v8J6zVDGObob42HCWjBnYZ3sOaXonjGtOtLAUFiaHA-luf6ah4qtTU/s320/_MG_5436.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The street bustle: not
because people move fast, but because people walk everywhere. My casual gait
propels me faster than the local pace . . . and I wonder if these people have
purpose outside of their daily tasks and errands. And two sides of the revolving
coin show themselves: how often do I spin my tires in an effort to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">look</i> productive and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">feel</i> like I’m going somewhere meaningful? And, how often do I sink
into a routine’s confinement, letting a circumstance, instead of the Reality of
a loving God, define my life?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwg_FSWarl-lyiK-maRxZJo2k42yDu0m_L4ezOEhXawFISyVI7_cLaEqnf8ntboGvETm5fz0Sa2hf_r8NpTq-Gp_yVpVLn15vslWBDXXZEcdQzGvdsOUuQ048mRVHMkv-B9ZT65HgG9KA/s1600/_MG_5393.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwg_FSWarl-lyiK-maRxZJo2k42yDu0m_L4ezOEhXawFISyVI7_cLaEqnf8ntboGvETm5fz0Sa2hf_r8NpTq-Gp_yVpVLn15vslWBDXXZEcdQzGvdsOUuQ048mRVHMkv-B9ZT65HgG9KA/s320/_MG_5393.jpg" width="213" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And these pictures,
cured and understood over time, continue teaching and speaking, and saying clearer
that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">soul-film is thin</b>, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">life crust is fragile</b>, and under each
blinking eye waits a heart in pain, longing to be found, to be heard; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a heart waiting to wake to beauty and joy. </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjFVoxT9PuzK5alaitzVB6yN9DYd60_w7auzqyOq67td_mKqvwJ7xF0JMl04pi5ujYtSlZaGuu-eUQRG9dRC80Xf9YAVCQk-j353K1n0JkGW0ICviNn8IW4ljF3EOSTwhrJbakE_OTl4/s1600/S8000425.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjFVoxT9PuzK5alaitzVB6yN9DYd60_w7auzqyOq67td_mKqvwJ7xF0JMl04pi5ujYtSlZaGuu-eUQRG9dRC80Xf9YAVCQk-j353K1n0JkGW0ICviNn8IW4ljF3EOSTwhrJbakE_OTl4/s320/S8000425.JPG" width="240" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ordinary</i>, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hum-drum</i>, this is where <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Grace</b>
beats her rhythm . . . <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for the song of glory</i></b>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBuccDTYOX0GUustRGhwcHz4NXNbDbGS6LXt1biGQL_acT1qyE0NYSWmL0f4qJ8Y7bNCtUaEiADx755n4bg0X76q5eXTRaEyzmKaA1ShVa-oxETZT45YqDyO23j0K4bdlKFOfn90QLow/s1600/S8000605.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBuccDTYOX0GUustRGhwcHz4NXNbDbGS6LXt1biGQL_acT1qyE0NYSWmL0f4qJ8Y7bNCtUaEiADx755n4bg0X76q5eXTRaEyzmKaA1ShVa-oxETZT45YqDyO23j0K4bdlKFOfn90QLow/s320/S8000605.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-25241496241716696232013-01-10T06:18:00.003-08:002013-01-10T06:18:38.360-08:00Inverted Glory <div style="text-align: center;">
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This gift of time, it
opens the door for me to walk through. So I step outside, down the snow-crusted
street, drifts and ice and shovelled remnants telling the tale of a persistent
winter. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifczxx9aiDmt8UYbt3pXz-1fLWYp_k63P-6W8gI5hVl8G9JEApvgaCuu2xBoKZyb7Y5O3hwAVzVuoJ8zxjbd4n29F0vAYyCJ1nVOclyS9WV6vPWQkpojSRMj8mnuniLPTP6n56YucB8X4/s1600/IMG_0504.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifczxx9aiDmt8UYbt3pXz-1fLWYp_k63P-6W8gI5hVl8G9JEApvgaCuu2xBoKZyb7Y5O3hwAVzVuoJ8zxjbd4n29F0vAYyCJ1nVOclyS9WV6vPWQkpojSRMj8mnuniLPTP6n56YucB8X4/s320/IMG_0504.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This gift of breeze,
it tickles my senses and awakens me to beauty unseen, only tasted in the soul.
And why should we be given such a palette of scents? We wouldn’t be the wiser
if everything smelled like vanilla, or vinegar, or rotten vegetables. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This gift of sun, it
beckons me to look up, look ahead, to LOOK, and see the wonder around me, see <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">through</i> the wonder to the WONDERFUL One
who took pains to make it just so. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGl5xtOsHMvRALU6LfejWbTC5d1OGkp6shzF2pZIdoryhZCdey2lzOe4uKDxQwKds1WRGVh6LXn8cLJUPqKuK2ilcD-Ov7EXWFGRvuaEO12Xn_t8Bn-jBef__rVRjzdrAzCq63X_tEKg/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGl5xtOsHMvRALU6LfejWbTC5d1OGkp6shzF2pZIdoryhZCdey2lzOe4uKDxQwKds1WRGVh6LXn8cLJUPqKuK2ilcD-Ov7EXWFGRvuaEO12Xn_t8Bn-jBef__rVRjzdrAzCq63X_tEKg/s320/IMG_0505.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And colour plays in
hues. And breezes waft in gentle shades. And time slows, turns musical, and the
world plays a symphony around me. And I join in, lift a melody line of sighing
gratitude, breath falling in time: exhaling thanks, inhaling grace. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNimb-zV_JTizp0Vy50oV2jKoT7Ia_g3Ibf3F_mSMmYxwFlocgW-qIqh8YSYVr7FMZVDeJy3MMklum_-wIdfaSQMoL7Mj4Lhwj4Y8ghKuzjQ4Qug4lWMchOtvjtK0wtcTXA9OF-2MZ8kI/s1600/IMG_0507.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNimb-zV_JTizp0Vy50oV2jKoT7Ia_g3Ibf3F_mSMmYxwFlocgW-qIqh8YSYVr7FMZVDeJy3MMklum_-wIdfaSQMoL7Mj4Lhwj4Y8ghKuzjQ4Qug4lWMchOtvjtK0wtcTXA9OF-2MZ8kI/s320/IMG_0507.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Why does it come so
rarely? Why can I not live in this sphere all the time? <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Why don’t I see the miracle and live in the song all the time?</b>
Here, I know I am alive. Why take such pains to avoid LIFE? Why sink in apathy
and procrastinated gluttony, letting heavy soul glug along, sapping life and
moving slow . . . a slow without <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">intention</i></b>, a slow without <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">attention</i></b>,
a slow dulled and tired. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But this . . . this gentle
walk calls <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">life</i>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">draws attention</b>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">awakens
purpose</i>. Everything looks deeper, as though it really is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">significant</i>, and can sing me a story.
The leaning trees with shadow and shelter, the bridge ahead, the very ice of
the lake. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7XXRTadpeCv46vfINcLqPIs2Zey3tlkJUQP-B5BfCCDMcmGFeWH3gT6lO4jU01t6OD9IoRsMx-jVPSreJsh5KJMLwJLpTsM3IVWBBS4A6WWXafcrSOtZ2t9qckqgDvtZ-BJmeNyq0cQ/s1600/IMG_0509.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7XXRTadpeCv46vfINcLqPIs2Zey3tlkJUQP-B5BfCCDMcmGFeWH3gT6lO4jU01t6OD9IoRsMx-jVPSreJsh5KJMLwJLpTsM3IVWBBS4A6WWXafcrSOtZ2t9qckqgDvtZ-BJmeNyq0cQ/s320/IMG_0509.JPG" width="239" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Snow footprints: they
began as indentations, marring the unbroken silence of White’s blanket. Now,
they are all that remains of a snow blown into ditch and rock and alley. They
started as an interruption on the landscape by adventurers or lovers, exploring
the newly formed world of ice. Now, they echo the journey, a brief-lasting
memorial, guides and trophies of a secret past. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAarsJQadYOeqUsQBEu4G9Qz8SbMmsO_gQIQIsCmZRjOefLXu3mzh0u3Ah5IJKCQd88YZlto8FGrDuqc7Vd7Gln5IN1DFr3rKvsF_DmRcsRTGzsOoTMrAtUtEySIHr5seTSuqh7nIoY0/s1600/IMG_0512.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAarsJQadYOeqUsQBEu4G9Qz8SbMmsO_gQIQIsCmZRjOefLXu3mzh0u3Ah5IJKCQd88YZlto8FGrDuqc7Vd7Gln5IN1DFr3rKvsF_DmRcsRTGzsOoTMrAtUtEySIHr5seTSuqh7nIoY0/s320/IMG_0512.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And sometimes, glory <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">echoes</b> inverted, in the things that
ruin our landscapes and mar our dreams. Sometimes, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">glory IS inverted</b>, the marks and scars left after the adventure and
surgery and soul struggle, these marks tell more than the pristine vista,
because they tell of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">healing</i>, of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">life</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still
living</i>, of battle and bruise and the fight with evil. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">They acknowledge something is WRONG in the world, they scream to be
made right . . . even while they promise that there is RIGHT, that there is
GOOD.</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Because scars reveal healing,
and in each scratch is a story of grace.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNC96ie29SSYRlJ-FFdf2IKm23B8ojinmvYvV3Eq5ODjbebUOrJiURdlPgWDcruIH_8Iev4ujmFYVc1EbCr8DfROVkEKIsxSyAFsh1L-YG8pKQlSVDVVC9hRwW5F43FbTlQwp-sWQ5KU/s1600/IMG_0513.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNC96ie29SSYRlJ-FFdf2IKm23B8ojinmvYvV3Eq5ODjbebUOrJiURdlPgWDcruIH_8Iev4ujmFYVc1EbCr8DfROVkEKIsxSyAFsh1L-YG8pKQlSVDVVC9hRwW5F43FbTlQwp-sWQ5KU/s320/IMG_0513.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sometimes, we just
need <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">TIME</b> to look for the stories, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">LIGHT</b> to see their beauty, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">EARS</b> to hear the song of glory threaded
through each one. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0zljDQDeL6GOMeGSoUSZFe7iXgN7uv8vZUGMrboa8GSkezTnp89_8TEO-Sbj6bi8Sd-ctp822QAMvijs3kex7X0lWEOh22JTGtOd7bKEo19ZA9u4tNhfwR77G8efmF-Evk86RLGK4rU/s1600/IMG_0515.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0zljDQDeL6GOMeGSoUSZFe7iXgN7uv8vZUGMrboa8GSkezTnp89_8TEO-Sbj6bi8Sd-ctp822QAMvijs3kex7X0lWEOh22JTGtOd7bKEo19ZA9u4tNhfwR77G8efmF-Evk86RLGK4rU/s320/IMG_0515.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So, let our souls WALK with You, Lord, the
Maker of Song, so we can hear Your music in our own souls, and detect it in
others . . . so we can call it out and join the global and heavenly song of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Glory</b>. </span></i></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-48850235909409950012012-12-24T17:40:00.001-08:002012-12-24T17:40:14.078-08:00Paradox`s story<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>Once upon a time . . . . there was a story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLn1CKA2AShKnlbKdTRT9UnlT3gGY-nDJ98KuP35lUW9pCbJU-Xpz2XePLucZrewviO-IbT1UuC47bL3xkpxHmQ1F14XzoQlEzb4ywhbRZfNH-EuM_uAbb1Xmbp5BUL8XSWI1dB8VMiUo/s1600/fountain+pen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLn1CKA2AShKnlbKdTRT9UnlT3gGY-nDJ98KuP35lUW9pCbJU-Xpz2XePLucZrewviO-IbT1UuC47bL3xkpxHmQ1F14XzoQlEzb4ywhbRZfNH-EuM_uAbb1Xmbp5BUL8XSWI1dB8VMiUo/s1600/fountain+pen.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>And the world is filled with stories: some true,
some tale. And the stories we embrace indent our soul and mould our destiny. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3FTxXyvqBzC92v-TbLH9T6xIekBE7LABrry4S_2FZuW41zTxm3GsMGeaFZ1kORIXOCK6bFJGEMuTMqQb7sgp_UNY9_6yDqSahfa4B2xBX4TUeo6XUD5INIdXMQN4yKPbIGgAPGiOhW8/s1600/bullrushes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3FTxXyvqBzC92v-TbLH9T6xIekBE7LABrry4S_2FZuW41zTxm3GsMGeaFZ1kORIXOCK6bFJGEMuTMqQb7sgp_UNY9_6yDqSahfa4B2xBX4TUeo6XUD5INIdXMQN4yKPbIGgAPGiOhW8/s1600/bullrushes.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>Because the stories we hear, and the stories we
tell, live bigger than us; and whether we know it or not, our belief ushers us
into the story we accept. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCvrWEGA1xCrBDyByjpeaLV7DB0lWvYZd6vstLBnfZQKwjQ8KpR1KuUT2JOvx1JQyBOGZrRKX1OWLb6jys12yn8K-THubzMhuLjczCbdl4N9Kiy2sMh6Z7aFqYeDt4NoExqw6GhNeYdo/s1600/path.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCvrWEGA1xCrBDyByjpeaLV7DB0lWvYZd6vstLBnfZQKwjQ8KpR1KuUT2JOvx1JQyBOGZrRKX1OWLb6jys12yn8K-THubzMhuLjczCbdl4N9Kiy2sMh6Z7aFqYeDt4NoExqw6GhNeYdo/s1600/path.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>And in the utter end, there are only two stories
we will tell, and we will live. One story says the world is chaos, and we alone
must muddle and reign and suffer and rule; that we are all there is, whether
our best or worst, and our only hope is ourselves. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8nvpEWl3i0KFDMNhc8kZnLUmGyKbIP9mT1lcV3pa3BdfH4VKjZIPzxCyHN1oZWxML6HOCWqY-WHifV_tnfDanxtCev7SsMz2hZbZTIt946WmLrvMSNTartXvT9dTm2MWyNz3rFLu2wQ/s1600/berries.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8nvpEWl3i0KFDMNhc8kZnLUmGyKbIP9mT1lcV3pa3BdfH4VKjZIPzxCyHN1oZWxML6HOCWqY-WHifV_tnfDanxtCev7SsMz2hZbZTIt946WmLrvMSNTartXvT9dTm2MWyNz3rFLu2wQ/s1600/berries.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>The other story says the world is chaos, but the
One Who made the world enters the chaos, and redefines it with His reality; and
we are <i>not</i> left alone to our own
devices, because<b> someone</b> from beyond
us <b>transcends</b> our noise and makes
sense of our senseless pain. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImOL-F-Le20lSvu8htx755NRu5klVkktr-VACmGx2rbrAepX95MsNd9AFvpY9tpv3UgzLRvSo_rPnLJNKMQZvhPGXbI7Z8QvV_lLPAZEbA965-5JxpyF1_ZO0yDF-tAlM8zEB9sCL3Zk/s1600/leaves.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImOL-F-Le20lSvu8htx755NRu5klVkktr-VACmGx2rbrAepX95MsNd9AFvpY9tpv3UgzLRvSo_rPnLJNKMQZvhPGXbI7Z8QvV_lLPAZEbA965-5JxpyF1_ZO0yDF-tAlM8zEB9sCL3Zk/s1600/leaves.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>And our lives <i>echo</i> the stories we believe. That’s why we have to know what story
we trust, and what story we live. Because to settle into an <i>alone</i> story is tragic, and to live as
though there is no story is to not live at all. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>We were made to live in a <i>together</i> story . . . and that’s the only reason we can believe it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbzdyZ-kL9pbirFquPeoSOMLgUnPYZNHG4EzzvJShX1iBgA9aFuSEKx0BsBLv3DN9NcYMKudBIjgq-ky50O7P8dnwITfMGihin0Em0uYA1IOwbgy82Vpd0qAGCW63B3j_uvJ-LaURfG8/s1600/sunrise.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbzdyZ-kL9pbirFquPeoSOMLgUnPYZNHG4EzzvJShX1iBgA9aFuSEKx0BsBLv3DN9NcYMKudBIjgq-ky50O7P8dnwITfMGihin0Em0uYA1IOwbgy82Vpd0qAGCW63B3j_uvJ-LaURfG8/s1600/sunrise.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>Close your eyes, and see it. Quiet your heart,
and hear it. Still the clamour, and enter in . . . </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span>This is the mystery, the paradox of grace. This
is our story.<span> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFW1MfCjhf3ue2yllbD69MTpjphlzb4uIwoXtbVyENvtuOCr2_U1YzbErm9qhDFOcl6AxEOFB8_cp11j2JMmcaDkyU3Sy6s6wsnWPp5vUkJ2NoRMTBqo4HHYgvdWTpJdaTG2_SlQTjUw/s1600/pen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFW1MfCjhf3ue2yllbD69MTpjphlzb4uIwoXtbVyENvtuOCr2_U1YzbErm9qhDFOcl6AxEOFB8_cp11j2JMmcaDkyU3Sy6s6wsnWPp5vUkJ2NoRMTBqo4HHYgvdWTpJdaTG2_SlQTjUw/s320/pen.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><span><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span><span>With help from Google images</span></span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-39873676030095601052012-12-19T07:47:00.000-08:002012-12-19T07:47:06.023-08:00Glory musings, part one<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The angelic herald echoes like a sweet
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And it comes like a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">taunting</i>, when our hard core realities reel chaotic, and blow
shredded and shattered like forgotten rubbish: its synthetic rustle hissing
through the breeze’s song, resilient ugly tendrils marring the broken scene.
The second law of thermodynamics seemed efficient enough for our undoing; why
add this man-made grief? </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcW7ajrEZIZ2aRCZW5L1tgNzBkCADMPvkiVPp60y_E09zExV9wJbrWqV9CEu09Y0YBRAg4budcCi4IZvRc59rxlrqn4fsxwyynwYEHBTNwLaalO8LVyKhssNAhiv-zMjEQqHp-GkoXG_w/s1600/a-woman-illuminates-darkness-using-a-match-to-light-a-candle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcW7ajrEZIZ2aRCZW5L1tgNzBkCADMPvkiVPp60y_E09zExV9wJbrWqV9CEu09Y0YBRAg4budcCi4IZvRc59rxlrqn4fsxwyynwYEHBTNwLaalO8LVyKhssNAhiv-zMjEQqHp-GkoXG_w/s320/a-woman-illuminates-darkness-using-a-match-to-light-a-candle.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Isn’t natural pain enough? Why the unnatural
weight too? We could barely endure the first, but crumple—utterly undone—under
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There must be different degrees of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">knowing</i>, an ebbing, layered sphere of
atmospheres we breathe, entering one and leaving another so seamlessly that we live
unconscious to the power we inhale. To know you are helpless and hurt, a needy
beggar, and to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i>—the sheer,
unreserved, raw state of your reality—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the
atmospheric conversion.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZPT1N5N8SVD6GhJyfx66ZQYdfPy1PBRt-i9tU7PfIf1PMX3FyQLY5A0XZleMiA-9IB5_QqcsT_EymhChDLUAsRoCV0KekVwZII9yZL55-iqdEDd8MBg7N0BZxmStsmA5fOfSSBveHGk/s1600/flames.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </b></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e-1iHXAdvH9F-dicBJuKd9TCcj5hwkDnqYFtm74YoE6UqQ4UJhOYsRBvdDfUuYBKCxPfaW29_bidOYEywJfoBNHwjYkN1W-LXTNrlWRB5sbG7K64gpX0R7_IuiknTuGzHO0vmO28jQY/s1600/single.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e-1iHXAdvH9F-dicBJuKd9TCcj5hwkDnqYFtm74YoE6UqQ4UJhOYsRBvdDfUuYBKCxPfaW29_bidOYEywJfoBNHwjYkN1W-LXTNrlWRB5sbG7K64gpX0R7_IuiknTuGzHO0vmO28jQY/s1600/single.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It’s not just being a country shepherd, a noble,
honest task where you content yourself and thank God you can sleep under the
stars. No, it’s the outcast, the scruffy thieves and chronic liars . . .locked
out at night and avoided in the day. The shepherd: excluded from court cases, their
word not worth being heard; shunned in polite and even normal society, their
association not worth the potential business or communal risk. Living honest,
lowly, and poor wasn’t humble enough: the association of others’ misdeeds hangs
irreconcilable on you, a weight unbearable, unavoidable . . .the intolerable
synthetic pain. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And there must be varying degrees of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">living</i>, potentials of capacity we have
not plumbed yet, realms high and deep, primed for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">expanse</i> of the soul, prepared for possibility, like the echo of a
promise.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZPT1N5N8SVD6GhJyfx66ZQYdfPy1PBRt-i9tU7PfIf1PMX3FyQLY5A0XZleMiA-9IB5_QqcsT_EymhChDLUAsRoCV0KekVwZII9yZL55-iqdEDd8MBg7N0BZxmStsmA5fOfSSBveHGk/s1600/flames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZPT1N5N8SVD6GhJyfx66ZQYdfPy1PBRt-i9tU7PfIf1PMX3FyQLY5A0XZleMiA-9IB5_QqcsT_EymhChDLUAsRoCV0KekVwZII9yZL55-iqdEDd8MBg7N0BZxmStsmA5fOfSSBveHGk/s1600/flames.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e-1iHXAdvH9F-dicBJuKd9TCcj5hwkDnqYFtm74YoE6UqQ4UJhOYsRBvdDfUuYBKCxPfaW29_bidOYEywJfoBNHwjYkN1W-LXTNrlWRB5sbG7K64gpX0R7_IuiknTuGzHO0vmO28jQY/s1600/single.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And doesn’t <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">GLORY
</b>pull us deeper, higher, real-er? Doesn’t it create the environment for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">potential</i>? The capacity for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">knowing,</i> for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">living</i>, for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">joy</i> and for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pain</i> find a harmony in the song of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">GLORY.</b> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And sometimes, it takes the shattering, brutal
synthetic to wake us to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">glory</b>.
Because constant pain grows dull, normal (even if it cripples us). But shearing
pain rivets us, and makes us <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i></span><span lang="EN-US"> that something is utterly wrong, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">something </i>is utterly <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Right.</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQSWgKn8h6EbddEPsl6dzqj3aA9j6enAh-PscRboKsvTIWUHOryic5ciEouob7LnPMKhho0g89fqiNHQkAsS8-GsB9R6H1bFEI6UrYtQN0fpV2NryJ2KmL72RRV07Al30UZlnWIEKJlg/s1600/coloured.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQSWgKn8h6EbddEPsl6dzqj3aA9j6enAh-PscRboKsvTIWUHOryic5ciEouob7LnPMKhho0g89fqiNHQkAsS8-GsB9R6H1bFEI6UrYtQN0fpV2NryJ2KmL72RRV07Al30UZlnWIEKJlg/s320/coloured.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">And perhaps, in all this chaos, the world
heaves and aches, priming for the coming of GLORY. </span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-86552955548389329192012-11-30T06:14:00.001-08:002012-11-30T06:14:49.093-08:00The smell of snow<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The imperceptible shift, a slipping into place,
some vast force steals in silent. <i>And we wake to a different world, one hushed
and reverent. </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDe8dviHZefKCIkS_20LffhBwGzScYapQiEEgOPZDX39X-fKWTPVdDOB4pM97RK1_gqGk8VDdTz-w01IgbW-KpK-l9bsNOn3jRNIdjjVf31Met_rJLvV-uCv_zCnf7pJ2wGEc-IzIYJI/s1600/jack+frost+berries.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDe8dviHZefKCIkS_20LffhBwGzScYapQiEEgOPZDX39X-fKWTPVdDOB4pM97RK1_gqGk8VDdTz-w01IgbW-KpK-l9bsNOn3jRNIdjjVf31Met_rJLvV-uCv_zCnf7pJ2wGEc-IzIYJI/s1600/jack+frost+berries.jpg" /></a> </i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Muted hues quiet the noisy orb, and while
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it all, shushing it to the background, bidding it cease striving, telling it, “Be
still.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The landscape has not changed; no blanket of
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because we can <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">smell the promise</i>. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Somehow, the pledge of snow’s arrival sets the
heart to rest, and awakens it to lively dance. This paradox slips into cognisance
without a syllable, and we grapple for words to describe the transformation. We
inhale light and quick, wonder catching our in our breath. Yet we exhale long,
the sudden revelation of beauty inviting us to pause and gaze in reverent
stillness. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvlkUEgOe8B0deW55G9wX2GoV9fiixHhCPMEm8RSTkroADc_BS9lEHTi1fBqoq6gOptNfmHME03_jDzeqYO2vSzrqrN3em7jznmc1McAKYYBlNUwjU6M8dALnPHHI87jU7vJ3nDeZbk6s/s1600/flowers+hoarfrost.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvlkUEgOe8B0deW55G9wX2GoV9fiixHhCPMEm8RSTkroADc_BS9lEHTi1fBqoq6gOptNfmHME03_jDzeqYO2vSzrqrN3em7jznmc1McAKYYBlNUwjU6M8dALnPHHI87jU7vJ3nDeZbk6s/s1600/flowers+hoarfrost.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The mingling atmospheres of heaven and earth
harmonize, their vibrations unifying. And somewhere deep in our soul, we hear
the music. When nature sings clearer than our screaming, false-inflated cacophony,
worlds still, and we remember. Sometimes it’s only a whisper<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, and don’t whispers speak louder than our
bustling shouts and crazy winds?</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Words float through the calm. . . <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>our minds can’t quite make them out, but the
heart understands. We look up. We peer beyond our own realm. We aspire soul-ish
for a dream outside our experience and cognition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And
sometimes, redemption consists of quiet nods and paced breathing.</b></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDe8dviHZefKCIkS_20LffhBwGzScYapQiEEgOPZDX39X-fKWTPVdDOB4pM97RK1_gqGk8VDdTz-w01IgbW-KpK-l9bsNOn3jRNIdjjVf31Met_rJLvV-uCv_zCnf7pJ2wGEc-IzIYJI/s1600/jack+frost+berries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dgAEd-pmB7cAd1HXYIEpw7Cs85chAIqIWaujIwcTAHmsurrICwFJhhNjuX9QguGtifL-Vj_X3OIpBFdBDTIeLKZ8RmzH7U1LSRYVfdcnoVsYl5sQBi2bpLB3zlrLEiczm6jclzTANbQ/s1600/snowy+lane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dgAEd-pmB7cAd1HXYIEpw7Cs85chAIqIWaujIwcTAHmsurrICwFJhhNjuX9QguGtifL-Vj_X3OIpBFdBDTIeLKZ8RmzH7U1LSRYVfdcnoVsYl5sQBi2bpLB3zlrLEiczm6jclzTANbQ/s1600/snowy+lane.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A word comes in the pregnant air, almost
undetectable, completely unmistakable to those who hear it: <b>Be still, and know that
God is God. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here we rest. Here we wait. Here we live and
scurry and endeavour . . . and aspire, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">listening
for the building echoes, watching for the consummation, remembering the
promise, and the One Who made it.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Photos courtesy of google images</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-85577502065799521722012-11-11T19:25:00.000-08:002012-11-11T19:25:11.944-08:00A walk to remember<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdRStpBkwbXnPoYYn_Nz8Yv3Mcsa38m9i583MJvl-MYAAIWP5sRXm1R2RuCafIExJPJomxr_hWUlJygR02zNygELylFaTVO_DVQjWh49UD49enyg1d8iu6Jy_ku9-HWRWW3ovkyk7Ido/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I set out to
discover, to find a walk for my soul, a way to remember. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It’s a journey within a journey: and isn’t this how life spins us? </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgML3_K_GB0BFyPnM2IIJu6ztQEKRXBeEAi_VGssQ7t1E-fRGsHeBtqrugG1W8a8RsQ4UyuTQxN_Vzc7IT5eNMgShFbc6zVV-BuwM9x1pMT7wRdjgz0HJQv2A2_3f9n-ohO1EWiTtpaAfo/s1600/IMG_0242.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgML3_K_GB0BFyPnM2IIJu6ztQEKRXBeEAi_VGssQ7t1E-fRGsHeBtqrugG1W8a8RsQ4UyuTQxN_Vzc7IT5eNMgShFbc6zVV-BuwM9x1pMT7wRdjgz0HJQv2A2_3f9n-ohO1EWiTtpaAfo/s320/IMG_0242.JPG" width="320" /></a> </b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mist rises from pond’s
mouth, living air sighing happy at the sight of sun, and my soul rises to
breathe it. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdRStpBkwbXnPoYYn_Nz8Yv3Mcsa38m9i583MJvl-MYAAIWP5sRXm1R2RuCafIExJPJomxr_hWUlJygR02zNygELylFaTVO_DVQjWh49UD49enyg1d8iu6Jy_ku9-HWRWW3ovkyk7Ido/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdRStpBkwbXnPoYYn_Nz8Yv3Mcsa38m9i583MJvl-MYAAIWP5sRXm1R2RuCafIExJPJomxr_hWUlJygR02zNygELylFaTVO_DVQjWh49UD49enyg1d8iu6Jy_ku9-HWRWW3ovkyk7Ido/s320/IMG_0207.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">First lines of the
day’s new song penetrate the world in shimmering rays. It’s an ancient melody,
an aching ballad, a groaning hope. The aged earth sings it fresh to its Creator
in this autumn, the first time for this day, the same as each day since her
inception. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And doesn’t the habit of
mercy meet us new, and old, each day?</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dependence on fresh
graces can stagnate into assumption and dullness,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> unless we receive eyes to see</i>. It <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">humbles</b> us, making us a forever student, one who always <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">needs</i> more than they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i>. But it makes us<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> alive</b>, hunger beckoning us on, because
we have <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">tasted</b> this goodness. And doesn’t
grace <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">upon</i> grace spiral up like this,
where <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we come around again and again to
the same beauties, always new</i>? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxE9NtMzdOwtY6WeBpOI1fHFni5vkN0cr-LLa4sJq8sRc2Dine2sD8vCMuRvnZ-LH42aGCbz19yq23iEl53HB_kD3TelvpxKEE0qpOdCJ9G-tqTpcPCVlhKbw4CrWm3usiq3vNCOB2ms4/s1600/IMG_0217.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxE9NtMzdOwtY6WeBpOI1fHFni5vkN0cr-LLa4sJq8sRc2Dine2sD8vCMuRvnZ-LH42aGCbz19yq23iEl53HB_kD3TelvpxKEE0qpOdCJ9G-tqTpcPCVlhKbw4CrWm3usiq3vNCOB2ms4/s320/IMG_0217.JPG" width="239" /></a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Guidance and
boundaries dot the walkway, and grace isn’t so much a tight rope to be nervously
balanced as it is a fenced enclosure, in which to dance. And how often do I
listen for the invitation to celebrate? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvBJhUXAZtsM__EBiVnUSzxKALK6IT8c_TZYPl556WsygkEfVzlkIscKDx8sLjF7jRpuXWBdndNOHSNHRYqWpsW_JPZwBRzM_2whqq-BJkbVK2HsXRKWr2K99QuR_1bdhbu-gP9E1Q70/s1600/IMG_0212.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvBJhUXAZtsM__EBiVnUSzxKALK6IT8c_TZYPl556WsygkEfVzlkIscKDx8sLjF7jRpuXWBdndNOHSNHRYqWpsW_JPZwBRzM_2whqq-BJkbVK2HsXRKWr2K99QuR_1bdhbu-gP9E1Q70/s320/IMG_0212.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Walnuts scatter
across the path, seeds fulfilling their destiny, many of them disintegrating into
fertilizer, never to realize their potential. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And how many of us rot away</i>? And how can we help it, unless we are
rescued and planted? One road leads to ultimate death, the other to fruitful
life. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And how many lives pass through
time’s ebb, never living the glory of resurrection</i>? How many victims never
get the chance to even breathe this air? How many lives snuffed out so soon, so
needlessly . . . <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">and the world can be
cruel</b>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4T_I3n2a3fIAaf9vbZUdYtGmqdi_51PeVn-reYob7pJkKPfr7KCAQRJ0_9h7ZHLM2U4QeGuFw400Jo1dGOQDi1zvpnCzi4EF5SOHUS2KPWMU3oeJy1ynscDsDSHmbNxdh-8MXmZJ5nY/s1600/IMG_0226.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4T_I3n2a3fIAaf9vbZUdYtGmqdi_51PeVn-reYob7pJkKPfr7KCAQRJ0_9h7ZHLM2U4QeGuFw400Jo1dGOQDi1zvpnCzi4EF5SOHUS2KPWMU3oeJy1ynscDsDSHmbNxdh-8MXmZJ5nY/s320/IMG_0226.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The path winds upward,
and it has to. We <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i> to know there
is something above, something more, something to dream for. It requires more
energy to climb, and round the bends; and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">often
the dullness of resignation calls louder than the pain of hope</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And don’t we have to know that there is
something <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good</i> ahead? The breeze
tells us, the sun invites us, the path beckons us on. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And isn’t the path itself a mercy</i>? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNy5LsW6VbWFZWV_49QCn1-qdna-KKxZqm-8QNbVhHI9nrFNs5MyOr1bPvWVfQJYdrM0MOeADFxZJtL4o0QRpdqBqOdhiXATvRk8OFBATKwS8BgEzVOlMhO0hNLNbAbLjCRFt6MGvyBA/s1600/IMG_0227.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNy5LsW6VbWFZWV_49QCn1-qdna-KKxZqm-8QNbVhHI9nrFNs5MyOr1bPvWVfQJYdrM0MOeADFxZJtL4o0QRpdqBqOdhiXATvRk8OFBATKwS8BgEzVOlMhO0hNLNbAbLjCRFt6MGvyBA/s320/IMG_0227.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I find the long road.
I turn right and follow it to the end. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a raised embankment, with deep ravines on
either side. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And isn’t grace a highway
between two ditches</i>? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB5n3JkPagaTk_DIeQ-kCVVoKHnO_-2vAFqVORbRH1t9Qus5rkz3IwDbPFuqV55YGUMP3XLJtv-YRqqaoHL8p8lP4piG32-oJVVyoe8LzsU4IYdG-nDGaNojP4JZkcm_rLFNzrSMZFtLU/s1600/IMG_0222.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB5n3JkPagaTk_DIeQ-kCVVoKHnO_-2vAFqVORbRH1t9Qus5rkz3IwDbPFuqV55YGUMP3XLJtv-YRqqaoHL8p8lP4piG32-oJVVyoe8LzsU4IYdG-nDGaNojP4JZkcm_rLFNzrSMZFtLU/s320/IMG_0222.JPG" width="239" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The road ends sudden,
cleared and built for a purpose fulfilled, and that is all. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And it is enough</b>. Some journeys end
abrupt, and we cannot retain sight or use of all the paths we walk. Each leads
on to another road, and if we stopped and built cities, the journey’s wonder
would die.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> And how often do I settle for
the safety of apathy, of a life so protected from pain that I lose a reason to
die, and a reason to live? </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I turn and retrace my
steps, remembering, following back, so I can walk again, and travel further. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And in remembering, we are re-made</b>. The
pieces fall into place, the melody played <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">backwards</i>
teaches us what we could not know while questing ahead. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssn387ztXrfp7fE5Xy5IiDC-K_nFbvgcl3RmIwYAxiV3pSfw6StHxw_q8sLXdbf7vxGJcOlvrRxBR833VAhqxs4eS2YPAEiH-urX-1DCmQ2Brx1Q4hF_k6K39pCiM2owOqRiOCVmtuxg/s1600/IMG_0209.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssn387ztXrfp7fE5Xy5IiDC-K_nFbvgcl3RmIwYAxiV3pSfw6StHxw_q8sLXdbf7vxGJcOlvrRxBR833VAhqxs4eS2YPAEiH-urX-1DCmQ2Brx1Q4hF_k6K39pCiM2owOqRiOCVmtuxg/s320/IMG_0209.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And the paradox of
grace tells us what we could not hear in the clamour, in the deafening pain,
and the anguished silence: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Yet I will still
hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His
mercies never cease. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Great is His
faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I say to myself, ‘The
Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Lord is good to those
who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So it is good to wait
quietly for salvation from the Lord.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-51512410440351080272012-11-05T05:14:00.002-08:002012-11-05T05:14:39.840-08:00Treasures of Wait<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJKtjKe7UIhLIPDsfBiDJ9QUDpzXDS804yItenAfVM8R7dDL3Ya9DagRpnJzTcIUqd9832sUWGlHghyphenhyphenO5wt-sQ1xEAoQqVPyNStuG58It1I4k-O7Hwzcb_MnlyNJkT_ouyvwxOQxGMeI/s1600/IMG_0191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
We embark, she and I, on this journey planned months ago; now suddenly<br />
revealed as perfect in timing. How is it that a spur-of-the moment<br />
idea, an uncanny seasonal ticket sale, and a haphazard, crazed<br />
schedule culminate in this gift?</div>
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<br />
The first flight ascends seamless, descends perfect; and we wait for<br />
our second plane, enjoying the several hours allotted to us. We walk,<br />
we muse, we get smoothies. And we look for our flight information,<br />
noticeably absent from the board. Changed gates lead us wandering<br />
around our terminal appendage, just relaxing.<br />
<br />
The second pilot is sick, the gate attendant announces, and the<br />
soonest replacement sits five hours away, so we must wait. We wander<br />
back to food courts and eat an overpriced dinner. <b>Conversation spills<br />
out in the gifted stillness of this prolonged moment.</b> We explore our<br />
souls; we speak life; we catch vision for the week ahead of us at the<br />
International House of Prayer.<br />
<br />
We read and wander, and enjoy each other, thanking God for the<br />
unlimited text plans purchased on the way to the border. <b>We are not<br />
alone, and it is good.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioig7Ic4igMbWbZfS-GimrxlH1g3H5LBisukL9bsDIoW539nMD_ybjufrjiv98K3E3bRM9M0nkd_N3vS7lKdVEsM3z7cZ4o-T4f8gNqzNy8joMOjyIYd-CRllejb4pK2HOy1rJwT1zo6E/s1600/IMG_0188.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioig7Ic4igMbWbZfS-GimrxlH1g3H5LBisukL9bsDIoW539nMD_ybjufrjiv98K3E3bRM9M0nkd_N3vS7lKdVEsM3z7cZ4o-T4f8gNqzNy8joMOjyIYd-CRllejb4pK2HOy1rJwT1zo6E/s320/IMG_0188.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Delayed again, this time without reason, and we stand around with<br />
tired passengers. But we are happy; this trip is in Another's hands.<br />
<b>And it is for us to enjoy.</b><br />
<br />
Cancelled, nearly six hours after the originally slated departure<br />
time. People rush mad to service counters, only to wait long and<br />
pensive for the rearrangements. We chat together: about rental cars,<br />
chartered buses, and the business we travel for. Hours pass in this<br />
way, looking for the shortest line, watching people sit and wait and</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
talk And what more can we do? Our fate is not our own.<br />
<br />
Batteries run low, so we charge phones, as one by one friends and<br />
family quiet into the silence of slumber. "That was going to be our<br />
joy," I muse. "Jesus is our Joy," she replies; and I see that <b>in the<br />
silence our delight can only come from the One Who gives us breath,<br />
not from the breath of another person.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JsUBP9nsHEw0z0W3iMYEJcr2qlFXwKe78bS3bd8Wnpi5aECzVY-eu-sMZr0iUmly8-Y5fhrjHSGQqiB6W8vU9EY3C43BBxdEc9f5H6XExUXC9Uok0mHKnIat480PdRcHEytb0hRQYQo/s1600/IMG_0196.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JsUBP9nsHEw0z0W3iMYEJcr2qlFXwKe78bS3bd8Wnpi5aECzVY-eu-sMZr0iUmly8-Y5fhrjHSGQqiB6W8vU9EY3C43BBxdEc9f5H6XExUXC9Uok0mHKnIat480PdRcHEytb0hRQYQo/s320/IMG_0196.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Last ones in line (still don't know how that happened), a little women<br />
takes us to kiosk and looks up flights, geographic and calendar radius<br />
varies as she explores the eroded options. She lends us her phone, and<br />
we can talk to our waiting ride. All we can do in this moment is wait,<br />
and praise. Worry melted long ago . . . I can't know just why, except<br />
that we <i>settle in the love and reality of the One Who charted this<br />
course for us, the only One Who can get us through. </i><b>And sometimes, the<br />
journey doesn't take you anywhere. You wait, and sit, and grow on the<br />
inside, so you will have strength to walk the next leg.<br /><br />
</b>
Supervisors come to check progress. He finds a flight for the next<br />
morning. He upgrades us to first class and puts us on it. I scream and<br />
dance for joy, not caring that I look ridiculous. We give the<br />
attendants chocolate, and carry our familiar bags to the curb, to wait<br />
for the hotel shuttle bus.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJKtjKe7UIhLIPDsfBiDJ9QUDpzXDS804yItenAfVM8R7dDL3Ya9DagRpnJzTcIUqd9832sUWGlHghyphenhyphenO5wt-sQ1xEAoQqVPyNStuG58It1I4k-O7Hwzcb_MnlyNJkT_ouyvwxOQxGMeI/s1600/IMG_0191.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJKtjKe7UIhLIPDsfBiDJ9QUDpzXDS804yItenAfVM8R7dDL3Ya9DagRpnJzTcIUqd9832sUWGlHghyphenhyphenO5wt-sQ1xEAoQqVPyNStuG58It1I4k-O7Hwzcb_MnlyNJkT_ouyvwxOQxGMeI/s320/IMG_0191.JPG" width="239" /></a><br />
<br />
We stand in the cold, make small talk, muse happy for the bed and<br />
shower and breakfast waiting for us. We watch bus after van pull along<br />
the curb, but none of them belong to our hotel. We wander along the<br />
road, stopping by a bench where a pair of glasses sit forgotten,<br />
intertwined in the rails. <b>And how often, in the wait, do we lose<br />
perspective? </b><i>How often do we forget that there is good for us, because<br />
God is good? </i> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>How often do we live a lie, as though we are victims and<br />
demi-gods and the world must revolve around us? </b>Finally, we call,<br />
grateful for the travelling American who uses her minutes for us. We<br />
must wait again: 45 minutes till another shuttle comes.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5fz-5W0MfV6KDsFzle1DuEIuz_InDN1y6Wgnb8hcnSVuhmyj4LiahM4uQbwbiRJbrVBFwyl4b0OtDrRv9HHo9UuTuwE2Vez4CBlXhhcokN57DdI14E2fDAdht74hGMRQJ8xxKxzPbnE/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5fz-5W0MfV6KDsFzle1DuEIuz_InDN1y6Wgnb8hcnSVuhmyj4LiahM4uQbwbiRJbrVBFwyl4b0OtDrRv9HHo9UuTuwE2Vez4CBlXhhcokN57DdI14E2fDAdht74hGMRQJ8xxKxzPbnE/s320/IMG_0189.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3q-j6iwX11AeEdB7QXVthNqCOZldOSVJiRs6hs7DlCs7NJ4OipH8S2iaCoyNRi3FXPdp_CcS8f_mWHS_eLm8fyk5hzLb6JOeQ5nQzwIMyQw2-FTm6NNMtLrEaCXzC0bNsZTjl21ViRxs/s1600/IMG_0197.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<br />
We go inside to thaw and wait. I try to journal, but thoughts jumble<br />
incoherent, so I just rest. And the shuttle comes. And we drive warm<br />
and safe to our hotel. And we shower and sleep four hours and have<br />
breakfast. We drive back early, proceed to the front of the line as<br />
first class passengers, and wait.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3q-j6iwX11AeEdB7QXVthNqCOZldOSVJiRs6hs7DlCs7NJ4OipH8S2iaCoyNRi3FXPdp_CcS8f_mWHS_eLm8fyk5hzLb6JOeQ5nQzwIMyQw2-FTm6NNMtLrEaCXzC0bNsZTjl21ViRxs/s1600/IMG_0197.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3q-j6iwX11AeEdB7QXVthNqCOZldOSVJiRs6hs7DlCs7NJ4OipH8S2iaCoyNRi3FXPdp_CcS8f_mWHS_eLm8fyk5hzLb6JOeQ5nQzwIMyQw2-FTm6NNMtLrEaCXzC0bNsZTjl21ViRxs/s320/IMG_0197.JPG" width="239" /></a><br />
<br />
Another delay. We go for coffee, spend our vouchers on gifts for<br />
friends, and sit with the Word, <b>our true meal.</b> We are happy, even if<br />
we can't know why. Eventually, we sit at the gate, we board the plane,<br />
we gate check our bags. We settle, and smile, and <b>everything seems<br />
more wonderful than we could have imagined. Because we waited for it.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Dx98WsFYfxs75qDzje5p7GMrZdBeumlDTFq92sgO-y0Oy1BhY_q4h-Lmxj7BDZvu5u0ia9rp7Ah8WNes0kYzR8x0kpOECaEwQlgWZXyd0cLyyuXO35aKujkHCIfYU_mS7Z2CPviqQr4/s1600/IMG_0208.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Dx98WsFYfxs75qDzje5p7GMrZdBeumlDTFq92sgO-y0Oy1BhY_q4h-Lmxj7BDZvu5u0ia9rp7Ah8WNes0kYzR8x0kpOECaEwQlgWZXyd0cLyyuXO35aKujkHCIfYU_mS7Z2CPviqQr4/s320/IMG_0208.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br />
And sometimes, God lets us wait for Him, so that we can know He is<br />
good, and we can enjoy Him more . . . in the journey, collecting the<br />
treasures of wait.</b></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-86143310596343944152012-10-24T21:17:00.000-07:002012-10-24T21:18:34.561-07:00Sunday’s Journey<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Sunday’s Journey</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Sometimes, the extraordinary comes wrapped
in silence and hoarfrost. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMJ0X8E4WCmXU48trcTA_3Rq_TOEPPKTE9No5By4n6CgaUkzBtZGHKAy1nCGp8bJPk-zdOMhFUexXGGdnIYESu6j4_RcP3GO9EsfKO9uYmWa4wpHjvVpcb53a6Olujf00z9Zu2lcwIHc/s1600/wheat+hoarfrost.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMJ0X8E4WCmXU48trcTA_3Rq_TOEPPKTE9No5By4n6CgaUkzBtZGHKAy1nCGp8bJPk-zdOMhFUexXGGdnIYESu6j4_RcP3GO9EsfKO9uYmWa4wpHjvVpcb53a6Olujf00z9Zu2lcwIHc/s1600/wheat+hoarfrost.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Fog the night before—and often it is foggy
before spledour bursts—and more fog in the morning, but there was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">light to see</b>, so I venture out. And the
fog <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">blesses</b> every branch and blade
with thickly delicate frost. Laden heavy with weightlessness, boughs linger
gleeful for morning sun. But <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">this moment</b>
is for me, for me to share with waiting creation. I run in the silence, the
hush of this moment, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and am gentled into
glory</i>. No camera, no way of documenting it, I must instead labour, to
associate, to think deeper; and I must remember. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Round the lake in whispers, my breathing
the only wind, my strides the only motor, I join the silent song, and let my
mind grow quiet; content to praise and pant and know I am alive. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">The old graveyard rests peaceful just off
the path. And today I can live spontaneously,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> because today is a gift</b>, so I travel up, and run along the fence,
my feet leaving prints in the whitened grass. I look for his resting place,
where we laid his body sixteen years ago. I’ve never visited Papa’s grave in
all that time. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But today is the day to live, and remember, and live deeper for the
recollection. </i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7XUILdZe2GAtgWiS0EjR1Wt0IVA8hBPtgWT5_Z0HBPlaMfAhBJqVNEHwCickrHAkMOKjNrZqybnT_Z15-sG_a3lo49hLEKtMfsoZXrzdI1xrsYPBRQ-ES0pYQLlXRL4hsNjy8ny5kfeU/s1600/images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7XUILdZe2GAtgWiS0EjR1Wt0IVA8hBPtgWT5_Z0HBPlaMfAhBJqVNEHwCickrHAkMOKjNrZqybnT_Z15-sG_a3lo49hLEKtMfsoZXrzdI1xrsYPBRQ-ES0pYQLlXRL4hsNjy8ny5kfeU/s1600/images.jpg" /></a> </i></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">I find his stone by his parents’ graves.
The wheat heads and wild roses etched deep and simple into granite, the plain
script and humble angle—these tell his story. He worked the land his whole
life, saw the shift of industry, watched the world change around him, and still
he plowed and harvested. Tilling came as a curse to Adam, yet it has turned to
blessing, because there Papa found his identity, and his God. And he lost
nothing for bowing his head in humility, and braving death’s scythe. He<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> gained</b>, and we his children reap the
harvest he cultivated. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">I kneel and brush a granite chip off the
slab. And even our firmest edifices fade and erode, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and the only things that last forever are the things we can’t see or
handle</i>. A seed in husk nestles in the etched letters. I brush it out and
let it fall to the ground. And if it dies to itself, it will bear much fruit—it
will not be utterly alone. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How strange
the paradox of grace.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZU49dZcm0VZ-OGQQ6185946FpwAonSjeHAnOWMyCpSc4V1rqtALeZ_s8X8RhSZmbz9oZyA9FEJeaf0ZyHfzq23LynagWiJA4N6L_Hpyzqb7heoBQoLg1sP4PF_CPlogqM-gBF_SQA0Y/s1600/flowers+hoarfrost.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZU49dZcm0VZ-OGQQ6185946FpwAonSjeHAnOWMyCpSc4V1rqtALeZ_s8X8RhSZmbz9oZyA9FEJeaf0ZyHfzq23LynagWiJA4N6L_Hpyzqb7heoBQoLg1sP4PF_CPlogqM-gBF_SQA0Y/s1600/flowers+hoarfrost.jpg" /></a> </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">I lift my hand from the stone. The moist,
warm imprint echoes like a shadow: dark, yet fading. And our warmth is a
shadow, a brief touch, a fragile breath. And it tells us there is better air we
have not breathed, vistas we have not reached, a whole world we have not known
. . . a world we were made for. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Fog recedes as sun rises. Mists lift like
organza plumes. The very earth seems to exhale its first fresh breath, sighing
chiffon vapours to the heavens. And I breathe, heart slowed, soul stilled. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I breathe to heaven in this place, and
remember that I am a breath, and Heaven gives me life, and I labour with joy to
breathe its air, as the fog lifts, and the thin veil shivers and fades. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlLiycgrTAOJNOHjlMGdFmVVdYU-N4wHPcs2tqyPnqijkNlumxQKJTER0b1jpYmoBi5wjZGgljyytkUlwcdIrG-Hg7EQJoLd6nTP_VYXOsJRsBGNCt3mkmEQ46V1a9opUwGTMv0_vDJ0/s1600/frozen+flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlLiycgrTAOJNOHjlMGdFmVVdYU-N4wHPcs2tqyPnqijkNlumxQKJTER0b1jpYmoBi5wjZGgljyytkUlwcdIrG-Hg7EQJoLd6nTP_VYXOsJRsBGNCt3mkmEQ46V1a9opUwGTMv0_vDJ0/s1600/frozen+flower.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"> </span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMJ0X8E4WCmXU48trcTA_3Rq_TOEPPKTE9No5By4n6CgaUkzBtZGHKAy1nCGp8bJPk-zdOMhFUexXGGdnIYESu6j4_RcP3GO9EsfKO9uYmWa4wpHjvVpcb53a6Olujf00z9Zu2lcwIHc/s1600/wheat+hoarfrost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">This
is hope, wrapped in hoarfrost. </span></b></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-50091839127395963332012-10-10T21:18:00.004-07:002012-10-10T21:19:56.046-07:00To Papa's school<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US">Today, he would have been eighty-four. And
I wonder how life would be different if he were here. For sixteen years, we
have remembered his life. His weaknesses and failures instruct us, his strengths
inspire us, his legacy colours our plans for the future and our enjoyment of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i>. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So I walk down the road to his school. Sun
blushes golden and dogs leap ahead through the harvested fields. I love this
school. I come here when I need to think, when I need to listen, when I’m
aching and broken inside and the voices clamour or the silence taunts me to
despair. Sometimes, words come, audible to my spirit from the One Who made me.
Sometimes, the silence says more. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Today, I sit in the door, on that support
beam they added when schoolhouse turned to granary. Windows long ago boarded
up, the pot-bellied stove crumbling to imperceptible rusted particles outside,
the teacher’s house drug to nearby slough, where it waits in deadened silence. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I wonder what the school was like when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i> came. The wall still tells where the
coats hooks mounted. That beautiful yellow door looks down like a guardian
angel. Someday, I’d like to take it home, to remind me that only a door
separates me from the life of eternity, and the sound from heaven travels through
wood and dust. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Round the back, paint vanished, the
etchings of once-little people still linger. His little sister carved her initials,
along with three others, only known to those who love them and love their
stories. And life is an etching—she’s gone too, a generation slipping into
silence, their marks deep, though faded; signs for another group of children to
read. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">And these husks, echoing the stories of
lives gone by; the remaining shells: their independent beauty engulfed by the
significance of those who once sojourned there. They represent, call to
remembrance, beckon the heart back to the old paths, and into the simple beauty
still possible now. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">The wind whistles low and soothing. Once,
he drove the wagon to school, his sisters in tow; the only boy, the dutiful
son. Now his sons and grandsons drive tractor and cart and combine through
fields, happy heirs of an honest legacy, inheritors of the working man’s ethic
and physique. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His sisters were cheerful, tiny women,
making happy homes and secure children. Now, his granddaughters nestle little
ones close, and make their nests resourceful havens, and wonder what nicknames
he would have given the great grandchildren. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Some etchings lay forgotten, and some
construct the next generation’s dwellings. It’s a makeshift lean-to, a nest to
build and fill and empty, because we are earth nomads, after all. And beside
the grayed scribbles of forefathers, we etch our names, we too were here, and
it matters.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The wind moans, stirring dust, our haunting
shells, reminding us that we are made for more, and we live this mystery of
life leading to more life, the echo of the song our Maker sings over us.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZTLz7BxBlocfGxHGirtpnJFe-7MXScz4RKsQGXTa1prRnkoxehWQcN5JJm5mpvVbNjKWYeaz76sIMNzq-RrHonX6e2TF7Jvkm_tndf6X70wumxcZbq8EmEZCrdSEOZS0DxIYSlrmtbM/s1600/IMG_0130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">In loving memory of Papa Collin</span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-59541603032157523572012-09-27T09:07:00.003-07:002012-09-27T09:08:43.149-07:00The Orphaned Heart<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">The little red-head from Prince Edward
Island haunts the Canadian memory with pleasant echoes. The adorable Shirley
Temple played the waiting child in nearly all her movies. The Fievel’s and
Cinderella’s, Oliver Twist’s and Life of Pi’s—these characters beckon us into
their story. Somehow, separated by generations, culture, and the fact that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we are real</i>, we identify with them. We
find them kindred souls; and their moments of virtuosity resonate in our
hearts. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Why? Why should we find ourselves in their
stories? What is it that makes us kin to a fake, or far-removed character? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">They are all <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">orphans</i>, abandoned or cast off, hidden from sight. They come as whimpers
in the night, disturbing our sleep. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">They
come as dark </span><span lang="EN-US">whispers in the sunshine, a shadow on our
perfect day. They come as echoes: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a sad,
soft reality waiting to be discovered, longing to be known and resolved.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Their stories come tragic, dramatic,
warming our hearts and melting us with joy in their conclusion. But why? Why should
we care? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We care because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we are orphans.</i> Whether abandoned, disappointed, brushed aside,
forgotten, ignored . . . somewhere, one day, our heart was orphaned. And now we
have to live on our own wits. Somehow, we have to make it through. We have to
take care of ourselves, because it’s not likely someone else will. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And yet, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">we all want rescued.</b> We dream secret of the Matthew Cuthberts and
Prince Charmings and rich relatives who will find us and save us from our
misery, from being utterly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">alone.</i> Whether
the horror was thrust upon us or we left of our own accord, something deep
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tasted. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Our inconsolable secret, that odd inability
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paradoxical dullness that always steals our joy. This is the orphan heart. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But what would happen if we really were
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finally feel the pain of desire without despair, because we knew there was
truly something good and worth the longing? What if we could detect the joy
tremours, and find ourselves overwhelmed with happiness?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Would we accept it? Would we live like we
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Well, it would mean giving up our orphan identity,
wouldn’t it? We must become someone new, someone different, something we’ve
never been before. And we don’t know how to play this role. We don’t know how
to be loved and taken care of. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagining
it hasn’t made us ready for reality. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i>
real. Someone has paid for our adoption, invited us into the holy love of God.
For those who know this love, but struggle to live in its wonder, what can you
do? And for those who have never tasted, what can you do? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s small, it’s humble. It’s not glamourous
or heroic or stuff for movies. But it’s where we begin to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">live</i>, and in living, we show what we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">believe.</i> It starts, when we say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thank You</i></b> to our Maker. It’s
that simple. And that hard. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7lw7JNNtZ0d0rDSRF-sS9kde-vyiLHLf2wq8OiY7wDg9R4LtRYp7kPeOeMIBY8B8QW1SqlI_r1YvyL77mB0kB1bbJlXk3-2I5CPSgJ9knSCNN1jC87LjQDD3aBSWwNDUsM32SUF75-g/s1600/Anne+of+Green+Gables.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7lw7JNNtZ0d0rDSRF-sS9kde-vyiLHLf2wq8OiY7wDg9R4LtRYp7kPeOeMIBY8B8QW1SqlI_r1YvyL77mB0kB1bbJlXk3-2I5CPSgJ9knSCNN1jC87LjQDD3aBSWwNDUsM32SUF75-g/s320/Anne+of+Green+Gables.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Photos courtesy of google images</span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-77165417662664853462012-09-13T07:31:00.000-07:002012-09-13T07:31:54.511-07:00On slow change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnImQZ_8XYxP2v7aDXA582GJEz9BRq9rK40W7LCr3KegwacArBKqf-ILPjIGvnRLRAnlBIoXjVamlfvJa30sDmdwiu1eCbGwltnWG6BoDgnEsms8QkovBfY8IzaBofODiJMVxxe5YGExM/s1600/S8004541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnImQZ_8XYxP2v7aDXA582GJEz9BRq9rK40W7LCr3KegwacArBKqf-ILPjIGvnRLRAnlBIoXjVamlfvJa30sDmdwiu1eCbGwltnWG6BoDgnEsms8QkovBfY8IzaBofODiJMVxxe5YGExM/s320/S8004541.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">13 September 2012</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Sometimes, it is good that things percolate
and brew. There’s a flavor transition, a texture change, a metamorphosis—so
that one scarcely recognizes the thing finished from the thing began. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">And people morph in progress; if we are not
changed by the journey, we are not likely moving, not <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">living</b> at all. People must change. It is the nature we were given.
Even when change is imperceptible externally, or torrential internally, or
catastrophic contextually; it simply <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i>
our state of being: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">becoming.</b> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Childhood’s emblems pass thick and dense
with threads of imagination, all the worlds created from thin air, the first
whispers of wishes for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">life</b>, a
prelude to the symphony. Perhaps the first pinings of “artistic temperament”, or
just the utterly basic nature of man: to long, to hunger, to ache with happy
angst for our <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">true destiny</b>, our <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ultimate relationship</b>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">But dreams disappoint, especially when the
dreamer is ignorant and scared—pseudo-safety constructed from gossamer whims. These
disintegrate, swept away in reality’s cold winds, sometimes to liberation, sometimes
to despair. And love of dreams wanes as actual strength to forge in reality
what the heart sees in clarity fails, because the heart is humiliatingly weak,
and the soul crushingly frail. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">And yet, in all the smashing and sifting
and blowing away, an indomitable, severe and sweet mercy pervades, because,
after all, we are created ones, and we have a Maker Who cares for our souls. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And perhaps the winds blow to teach us that
we are not our own, that we cannot possess control. </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Maybe the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">frost is really our friend</b>, warning us to seek the protection we
need from the winter storm. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Could it be that the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">darkness and cloud come as kindreds</b>, beckoning us into the light
and warmth of our Maker’s embrace? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">What would happen if we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">welcomed</i> the winds instead of resisting
them? If we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">listened</i> to the whispers
and shouts instead of covering our ears? If we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">accepted</i> the season of confusion, darkness, and quiet? What might
we learn of ourselves? What might we come to know of the One Who made us? And
what might change in how we look at the pilgrims walking near us? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">“It is a serious thing to live in a society
of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting
person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you say it now, you
would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as
you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">All day long we are, in some degree helping
each other to one or the other of these destinations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">You have never talked to a mere mortal. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -
These are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is
immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal
horrors or everlasting splendors.” C.S. Lewis</span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-42664343672697415712012-09-06T13:21:00.002-07:002012-09-06T13:21:30.082-07:00Lessons from a mountain lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0hJjcsxRyqaBDV3PQIipV52zPnMISK5GEhUMB8gl-5Ww3p3KNxXHHl5alPhUpHOF3Hjbm0QgF9Zw-JYlRRtzsznWgg8vme37LssaYPW-qpyVfiEI9a0pxFclIzvYe0hQuZy-P-4AMHE/s1600/2+cameron+lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0hJjcsxRyqaBDV3PQIipV52zPnMISK5GEhUMB8gl-5Ww3p3KNxXHHl5alPhUpHOF3Hjbm0QgF9Zw-JYlRRtzsznWgg8vme37LssaYPW-qpyVfiEI9a0pxFclIzvYe0hQuZy-P-4AMHE/s1600/2+cameron+lake.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">6 September</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">I slip into the mountain lake: sandaled
feet guard my soles from disheveling rocky bottom and unnerving greenish slime.
Cold water transforms my smooth skin into plucked-chicken state, and I don’t
wonder. The glacial snow tucked away in tidy shadow of the mountain stares down
on us. No matter. We must live this adventure. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">I tread out to my waist, then bend over and
plunge forward, encasing limbs with living water, sending tremors through my
being. The sun beats warm on my dry head, and I float noiselessly. My submerged
limbs sway gentle and cautious beneath me, afraid to get too far away from my
core, lest they traverse into severe cold. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">I stay safe: able to touch, tiptoeing on
the crust of dare, thrilling in the unrepressed delights of even a small
adventure. Then, I feel it. A shaft of icy cold water brushing my hand, as
though invisible fingers reached out their greeting hand, welcoming me to the
water’s mystery. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Behind me, a caress of warmth, another spectral
current rubbing my shoulders, telling me everything is good. The top eight
inches feel so happy, warm and lively; and the progressive depths twist around
me with fluctuating temperature, growing up my limbs like an invisibly dark
branch. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I tread, and float, and feel. Sounds of
boaters travel across the amplified surface. Friend’s voices pass easily in the
quiet moment. We laugh, and talk, and slip into, out of, the varied pockets.
Are they morphing rooms in a giant lake palace, housing fish or reed, carrying
burning sun’s messages to other wings of the castle? Are they limbs of the lake
itself, stretching and basking in the afternoon glory? Are they the echoes of
dents, like a steel pan drum, resounding the multifaceted glory of the sun’s constant
beating?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Transfixing wonder settles. I am not
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<b>silence and smoothness that make everything clearer</b>. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And in life’s lake, I float. I never wanted
to tread water, never saw the point; and years passed in flurried activity for
its false sense of purpose. Swimming back and forth across the lake . . . no
reason, except that if I’m moving then I must be important. And now I float,
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Possibility to the right, potential to the
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beside me. Hurried swimming had its point: I gained muscle mass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is not my purpose. <b>The time comes when
we have to stop training and start our race, stop studying how and actually do.
</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>This isn’t an epiphany; it’s a moment’s
choice. </b> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s not glamorous or thrilling; it’s humiliating. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US">But it’s where real
life happens. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Living the story fills in all the margins the books forget to
tell you, all the things that happened between the key events, all the deleted
chapters and boring fill-ins. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Maybe, just maybe, it’s in the cool and
quiet waters that the seismic soul shifts occur. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Photo courtesy of Google images </span></span></div>
Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-61618844412205699712012-06-06T06:08:00.000-07:002012-06-06T06:08:10.899-07:00Gentle Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Gentle me, by Ted Loder</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Gentle me, Holy One, into an unclenched
moment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESXwqxGh18Vst3O77EPQ8a56A6rshb6ZprkNB8hpbE9W6ANHv6Ok5ZYWB3L0gGm2bf8vDS6p6ce_ppWq9cEfC0SCsoEEAYTmibjQ-eVpLBsLtUfN3lni55Li95dUwswWMi5eE2Rg0MRY/s1600/S8004939.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESXwqxGh18Vst3O77EPQ8a56A6rshb6ZprkNB8hpbE9W6ANHv6Ok5ZYWB3L0gGm2bf8vDS6p6ce_ppWq9cEfC0SCsoEEAYTmibjQ-eVpLBsLtUfN3lni55Li95dUwswWMi5eE2Rg0MRY/s320/S8004939.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">A deep breath, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBYnxJ1Oz5qQuzWf_gOTdQCARm-HfLOXKJcupH-20bOkKxY6gQ8tJcmvo7eZySrJBiug8baGkbr-GCPX0xrLINJZy1eS7NFEJmXr14nJsNzgcBfv2u2IpT0p1h41BG6NAo-VrebRLvxI/s1600/S8004974.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBYnxJ1Oz5qQuzWf_gOTdQCARm-HfLOXKJcupH-20bOkKxY6gQ8tJcmvo7eZySrJBiug8baGkbr-GCPX0xrLINJZy1eS7NFEJmXr14nJsNzgcBfv2u2IpT0p1h41BG6NAo-VrebRLvxI/s320/S8004974.JPG" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">A letting go of heavy experiences, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Of shriveling anxieties, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OXnMl2iLjHQUkJk09Du8SOAn8PnD2Y9ZPheKSt0dUPDf8pnhUsL6EBNhYoGDqvttETvayAXwqxFG-9MPtZ3oko0QdmXDL5q0wTRs98LvI6h2cmMcINhD66xiEN6LzKTQSoR2CAN7XBs/s1600/S8004948.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OXnMl2iLjHQUkJk09Du8SOAn8PnD2Y9ZPheKSt0dUPDf8pnhUsL6EBNhYoGDqvttETvayAXwqxFG-9MPtZ3oko0QdmXDL5q0wTRs98LvI6h2cmMcINhD66xiEN6LzKTQSoR2CAN7XBs/s320/S8004948.JPG" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwK3ALG74CLCWQqy5FMjcnJRMp2FLVsAna1AXrrmWdUEMfRjWao1r900XkvYTI0yIGrdlMcKlS7pGO30I9x0Q1oPQGv1hyxm0irT25usC-QPmC5bjlzSILyKq7bWdUQgZ4Tvwb9fjDPX0/s1600/S8004944.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Of dead certainties, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">That, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Softened by the silence, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaz6Ko9G7FNHttTxel5vLyoh6kW_m0eeerw4blr1xeq3ht0ULVWetsZrxOlf48EdJ80yt0OXsblzEk53DstCy_Ju5V2CGW9zzoSExbUBVVqdlP8mZyW6Otu6bYkWrro2OuKb-OTR0EAI/s1600/S8004970.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaz6Ko9G7FNHttTxel5vLyoh6kW_m0eeerw4blr1xeq3ht0ULVWetsZrxOlf48EdJ80yt0OXsblzEk53DstCy_Ju5V2CGW9zzoSExbUBVVqdlP8mZyW6Otu6bYkWrro2OuKb-OTR0EAI/s320/S8004970.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Surrounded by the Light, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_NmlahtAsJkturBeOiMs2NukOxfHWZZhkaVoGrHxb-IGxqGvB8MqeQQHFxz-DTBJT0YuQbVnDF1W72Ols65K34nDXCWMX6pxOLEo3c6yNkJI78DA7ufD1911TqhrSiKWPzXJbVBWq3s/s1600/S8005017.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_NmlahtAsJkturBeOiMs2NukOxfHWZZhkaVoGrHxb-IGxqGvB8MqeQQHFxz-DTBJT0YuQbVnDF1W72Ols65K34nDXCWMX6pxOLEo3c6yNkJI78DA7ufD1911TqhrSiKWPzXJbVBWq3s/s320/S8005017.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">And open to the Mystery, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">I may be found by Wholeness, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfS2vEFiYPkPsInKbl5JYcibIzyqFT3Gt2mdVMmvf5KoNrGYvnJLr2FmX-LWPMhhFymg_NSqJoYX0MjaDFzFkJYXx3b6D869siq2ZKPNjb1x9aVRjNJUI5PP79sErG6MwdsR-omtP5OUM/s1600/S8004958.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfS2vEFiYPkPsInKbl5JYcibIzyqFT3Gt2mdVMmvf5KoNrGYvnJLr2FmX-LWPMhhFymg_NSqJoYX0MjaDFzFkJYXx3b6D869siq2ZKPNjb1x9aVRjNJUI5PP79sErG6MwdsR-omtP5OUM/s320/S8004958.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Upheld by the Unfathomable, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcTDLjKncKg4t7tWB88j7HydtP2ySLFnj3ns4n6WoqKJlAicrVwATqs9amPTS6VbQBtMgSSqErdeaGstqA0O6x72cborHDLh3_Yaj0FXPt_OjM1DxTEXMJOsxP1qxnl_cVk3RJox_Z5A/s1600/S8004999.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcTDLjKncKg4t7tWB88j7HydtP2ySLFnj3ns4n6WoqKJlAicrVwATqs9amPTS6VbQBtMgSSqErdeaGstqA0O6x72cborHDLh3_Yaj0FXPt_OjM1DxTEXMJOsxP1qxnl_cVk3RJox_Z5A/s320/S8004999.JPG" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Entranced by the simple, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsAii2_E4-Mg51ji1xMuLoEuLzBaNd7uQp2m21c2zLe5fWVQ44fuavQa4XUuFgMd74kwUeS25k7SqQLsWxUFRmRtB8i2_zT8a3UEcyI1itSY4K2zMQtzEtW8XV7eT71gUICaeCAdZlfo/s1600/S8004987.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsAii2_E4-Mg51ji1xMuLoEuLzBaNd7uQp2m21c2zLe5fWVQ44fuavQa4XUuFgMd74kwUeS25k7SqQLsWxUFRmRtB8i2_zT8a3UEcyI1itSY4K2zMQtzEtW8XV7eT71gUICaeCAdZlfo/s320/S8004987.JPG" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">And filled with the Joy that is You.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35bzdKyeAaxfgtKgeo_Nv_FhL4tikPVxxCyT4Efc37qG3PCZOoWMG42xVvwR18fsS5V1YgTCvRcrHBv7O7eY0z-g-fTDyY7PKVuW_SIMLhj1gNdGUN_LFNrs9b2IHr-raJpVEWdrXY1w/s1600/S8004960.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35bzdKyeAaxfgtKgeo_Nv_FhL4tikPVxxCyT4Efc37qG3PCZOoWMG42xVvwR18fsS5V1YgTCvRcrHBv7O7eY0z-g-fTDyY7PKVuW_SIMLhj1gNdGUN_LFNrs9b2IHr-raJpVEWdrXY1w/s320/S8004960.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-69134649384788344232012-03-19T11:17:00.002-07:002012-03-19T11:23:32.762-07:00Journey of Words<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> 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mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:EN-US;} </style> <![endif]--></div> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Sometimes, words cascade, a billowing, frothing mountainous river of life.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERczmbbaKk76V0sd8mgCs4e6RvqAdvf_rGG2wn9SP3h5ipPa6lp9HtCYCSGV65yjdtGAdDCyFV7uCYzxBT8swFkNeax6PR4j9vbGYARKPRA-buxwiOQySKFJhjApPUW__PoFBA7zCu6s/s1600/gorge+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 183px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERczmbbaKk76V0sd8mgCs4e6RvqAdvf_rGG2wn9SP3h5ipPa6lp9HtCYCSGV65yjdtGAdDCyFV7uCYzxBT8swFkNeax6PR4j9vbGYARKPRA-buxwiOQySKFJhjApPUW__PoFBA7zCu6s/s320/gorge+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721675201837070626" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Sometimes, words trickle, pathetic tributaries, stagnating and dripping in sun’s heat, too exhausted to do much good. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Sometimes, words are too much, then, they are not enough. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">And I see them for what they are: words—squiggled letters jumbled or arranged, breaking rules, borrowing spellings, stealing jargon—weak, simple, fragile instruments. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">I’m thinking differently about words these days, using them in other ways, and lulling, because the flow turned a corner, the current slowed. Change can’t always be described by words, even if it comes through words. Soul impressions and heart groaning can’t always express in words. There are pains and joys too deep, too far beyond, calling to spheres of poetry, music, drums, or sheer silence. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">In the quiet, I hear words spoken by others, those who had a voice, whose cries birthed beauty, through words. So when I have nothing to say, I let them do the talking.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbPJsnU3MqVI9Uhpr83X63cEimgknNkaeuDfjIpDAQvhqzq-93W7foTRvCS9OJw7NCWVACG0C-OYE_qDPgTSLp8F256GWinF9ki0HY2AE1exqGp9j6Ab1-Axbl3ut3tvwQZ2q8X9ElWg/s1600/gorge+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbPJsnU3MqVI9Uhpr83X63cEimgknNkaeuDfjIpDAQvhqzq-93W7foTRvCS9OJw7NCWVACG0C-OYE_qDPgTSLp8F256GWinF9ki0HY2AE1exqGp9j6Ab1-Axbl3ut3tvwQZ2q8X9ElWg/s320/gorge+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721675205676793186" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">“Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">You have brought me to the valley of vision, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Where I live in the depths but see You in the heights;</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Your glory. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Let me learn by paradox </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">That the way down in the way up, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">That to be low is to be high, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">That the broken heart is the healed heart, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">That the repenting soul is the victorious soul, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">That to have nothing is to possess all, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">That to bear the cross is to wear the crown, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">That to give is to receive, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">That the valley is the place of vision.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnLf1BOspD84TPtXAkVmVXezaGqQVMHWQQAO6F_Lm4X8HrXt0EsOd7VM43jeOiN4_qA4TeESuV7HXHD7MWdgYia4HRiLPYsszjJyW0mkme5XjuVWdUNgpUWN-hXbFBfSkEHUcCBxrb9cw/s1600/gorge+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnLf1BOspD84TPtXAkVmVXezaGqQVMHWQQAO6F_Lm4X8HrXt0EsOd7VM43jeOiN4_qA4TeESuV7HXHD7MWdgYia4HRiLPYsszjJyW0mkme5XjuVWdUNgpUWN-hXbFBfSkEHUcCBxrb9cw/s320/gorge+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721675200552874626" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Lord, in the daytime starts can be seen from deepest wells, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">And the deeper the wells the brighter Your stars shine;</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Let me find Your light in my darkness, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Your life in my death, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Your joy in my sorrow, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Your grace in my sin, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Your riches in my poverty, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Your glory in my valley.”<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Valley of Vision</span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Photos courtesy of Google Images<br /></span></p>Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-43304508557871044672012-01-24T11:10:00.000-08:002012-01-24T11:12:59.073-08:00The Sorting of Life Stuff<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> 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brown earth that define our waking hours and the labour of our hands. This is where I’ve been writing, been scratching, been wanting to cross out and wipe off. Big items: large because of their unknown daunting workload; avoided items: procrastinated because the labour measurement is known, and dreaded—these things mark the back wall of my mind.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBKfBd08_fXZeEQLBRiwFnhCxmgifRYvOv3ZaPl8iLM2eLwrlYXBxdY6U-FVOu_kSSJbN_8bKE4CNT-41DDr38QJ1H4rd07pb4CrSBARgkos5a8ls0Q_KVpBH4iGKMUQLa0IjxMwJJqo/s1600/images.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBKfBd08_fXZeEQLBRiwFnhCxmgifRYvOv3ZaPl8iLM2eLwrlYXBxdY6U-FVOu_kSSJbN_8bKE4CNT-41DDr38QJ1H4rd07pb4CrSBARgkos5a8ls0Q_KVpBH4iGKMUQLa0IjxMwJJqo/s320/images.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701278307398593522" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">So, I’ve been piddling. These little things and big things and concrete things that need doing, they’re boring, known, un-thrilling. They’re the stuff of normal life.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">I never considered myself a procrastinator, because I am always busy with one thing or another, and a busy day is a worthwhile day, right? If motion is constant, surely it is better than stagnation. But this nagging shadow creeps across the sunshine of my long work days: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">what if the things you are doing are keeping you from the things you <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">should</b> be doing? <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">What if all the fluttering is because I’m afraid of the narrowing demanded by single focus? I know enough of my jack-in-the-box tendencies, after all, I’m one of those multi-tasking people: highly efficient, and thus, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">highly desired</i>. Aren’t I? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Am I?</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Is that who I want to be?</b> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">And I think of the sisters who lived and laboured together in dusty, oppressively-hot Israel. The one scurried and hustled: so efficient, pristine in her domesticity; but inside, she ached for more. She took offense when her younger sister could just sit and do nothing . . . she’d worked all her life to get to a place where there was nothing to do, but could never achieve it. The struggle ripped her to shreds, so she didn’t know whether she was coming or going, fighting against what she wanted the most, afraid to release her own ridiculous ideals of herself. If she stopped, would Mary pick up the pieces? No, she would stay sitting, and let the house fall down. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Martha could not rescue herself from the futility of her labours; because her labouring was only a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">symptom</i> of her inner bondage. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">The house chores were never the issue</b>—Martha would not sit still and learn, would not be quiet in her heart, would not let the silence search her soul. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Martha was terrified of exposure, so she fought it with frenzied goodness. </b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">I can’t save myself from my downfall, my default to stress and strain, my habit of cramming life so it feels full. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">I’m not supposed to save myself</b>. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">The difference for Martha, the difference for me, is not a change of situation, but a change of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">position.</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Jesus</b> spoke, and transformed Martha from a worker to a worshipper. In the future, Martha would work and serve again, because that’s what she did. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Jesus just changed the reason why,</b> the unction of the heart, the first purpose. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">So, the outside does not always change. We go on arranging and rearranging (that’s all work is, after all: moving an item from one place to another, be it a man’s fascia, or a crystal bowl, or a dust particle), but the heart changes. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">I thought I had to change who I am, what I am, what I do, and how I do it. Jesus comes, and says, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">“Love Me <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">with</i> your heart, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">with</i> your soul, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">with</i> your mind, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">with </i>your strength.”</b> He knows who I am. He made me to function <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">whole and holy</i> by His indwelling life. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">And the slate slowly clears, the blank space is good. I do not need to fear an empty-looking future, or a confusing present, or a dissatisfying past. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">“I will fear no evil, for YOU are with me. Your rod, and Your staff, they comfort me.” </b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Because, at the end of the long work day, the only thing I will have to show Him is what He has given me: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">the</b> <b style="">mark that I am His, and He is mine, and that’s all I need, really, to truly live.<br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">(photo courtesy of goole image, because I'm no photographer)<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><br /></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p>Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-76052640361407673592012-01-20T06:22:00.000-08:002012-01-20T06:27:51.217-08:00The PauseDear Pilgrim,<br /><br />Words come, but not in the form I can yet relate in cyberspace. I am being washed with the Word of God, soaking, letting it run off me, sweeping off the clinging death that would kill me; washing me, the dead body, to be brought to life again by the life of Jesus.<br /><br />This word washes me today: <span style="font-weight: bold;">"For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified . . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful." </span>Hebrews 10Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-28748321762108873312012-01-11T09:33:00.000-08:002012-01-11T09:34:13.741-08:00Song of the Wind<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> 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mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Dear Pilgrim, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">After weeks of donning light shells and thin finger gloves, winter finally settles into the neighbourhood. Everyone expected him weeks, even months ago, with the gale force tenacity he bellowed last year. But no, winter waited. Christmas passed brown and windy, the breathy exhale always accompanying the sunshine. We embraced the sun, and cringed to face the wind. The constant droning and moaning, piercing exposed sinuses, taunting the out-of-breath explorer, dismaying man and beast as it propels flames across the landscape—it grates our minds and aggravates our souls. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">But if we want sunshine, we must accept the wind. The healing balm that coaxes us outdoors, with upturned faces, viewing the golden world, comes with the wind. The draining, changing, threatening wind—unpredictable, flighty, menacing—this keeps company with sunshine. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">But what is the wind, really? Just blowing and blowing air, invisible, harmful only because of what it stirs up, or knocks over, or carries around. But just the wind . . . it’s just a breath. It tells us we are here, seasons change, nature’s garments flutter and flounce. It teaches us to hammer down what is important, and let the little things fly. It informs us of change or danger, blowing dust off our cars, cramming dirt into our windowsills. It gives and takes, always exchanging what it holds, never grasping it long, always taking it somewhere else. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">The wind, it tells me that I too am vapour, practically invisible, a constant droning till I die away, moving things about through work, rearranging, then my body will lie quiet. The important stuff needs securing, the trivial needs shooing . . . and strangely enough, it’s the vital things of life that are invisible: relationships, looking rightly at the world, knowing why we are here, who we belong to, and where we are going. If we can’t nail these things, we haven’t much substance to carry, and will feel empty passing through the tunnel of time. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">Because one day there won’t be wind, we won’t be scurrying. We will know what is truly valuable. And we’ll either love it, or shrink away from it forever. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-CA">God, help us now to love Your reality, Your unchanging nature, Your faithful hand, wherever You lead us. Because You are good, and want good for us, help us trust Your heart, and not chase after the empty wind. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-24008009976587942672011-12-21T05:57:00.000-08:002011-12-21T05:59:27.619-08:00An Interrupted Tranquility<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> 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name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">I scurried, realizing I didn’t have time to complete my blog and post it before needing to leave for work. The morning winds made my decision not to run an easy one, even though there’s the lingering frustration of flaccidity and the sobering reality of too-soft-ish places in my anatomy. But since I didn’t run, the door remains locked and bolted. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">So I packed my lunch bag, thinking life was basic indeed today, checked that the door knob was still locked, and exited the nest. I walked in the usual way to the gate, fishing for my car keys in my bag . . . and that’s when it hit me. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">My keys were still hanging merrily from the coat hook in the house . . . on the other side of that locked door. </b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Not only am I prevented from driving to work; I cannot get back into my house tonight, either! So getting a ride will only help half my problem. I hang up on the friend I was dialling. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">What about the windows? I’ve got in before in the summer . . . I pull and reef on the pane, scratching my knuckles (not good for my profession), and getting nothing but a pathetic wiggle in response. The window won’t budge. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">And I’d just been composing about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">peace:</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> the presence of God with us in our messes, that makes all the difference.</b> I did not feel placid. I whined, “God! What am I supposed to do?” The nearest family member with a key sat 80 miles away . . . and the Proverb reverberated in my muddled mind: “Better is a neighbour nearby than a brother far away.” </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Okay, so God knew this was going to happen, He knew how stupid I’d feel, He knew that my client would be waiting for me . . . <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">so He has a plan and purpose for GOOD in this madness.</b> I would call my landlord. Thank God I remembered my phone today! I feel so dumb . . . and it’s justified . . . it was dumb of me. The landlord’s wife answers! And she can come right away!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">I phone the office, and my story sends the secretary into a mild laughing fit. Thank God she can laugh at me. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">So now I have to wait, and linger in this stupidity . . . this gratitude . . . this me-needing-major-help-and-some-kind-person-is-on-her-way-to-rescue-me essence: this <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">mercy</b>. I’m helpless, and my God is taking care of me. I’m humiliated. I’m humbled. I’m so grateful. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">She comes, and lets me in. Hmm . . . after all this turmoil, it seems a shame to linger only a few seconds in the house: the ability to enter these walls suddenly becomes very precious to me. Keys in hand, I lock the door behind me, unlock my vehicle, engage it to drive, and go to work. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Wouldn’t you know . . . this chinooking wind makes it warm enough for me to drive without running my vehicle for 10 minutes first. And the road conditions are good. And there’s a place for me to park. And my client did not mind having to wait. And the Secretary is still laughing. And the sun is shining. And this day is wrapped in mercies. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">So I will take His mercy, and taste that He is good, because I need His mercy, and I crave His goodness. And isn’t that just like Him: sheer goodness coming into our mess, and changing our world forever? </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">And I’m going for a run this morning. </span></p>Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-56940929493093704432011-12-20T18:27:00.000-08:002011-12-20T18:31:56.862-08:00The Angel's Candle (The Shepherd's Candle, Pt. 2)<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >20 December 2011</span> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" > Drawn away, the outskirts of civilization, lonely fields where children face sheer elements and grim, bleak reality . . . in these far off, unimportant places heaven touches earth, drawing its inhabitants close in embrace. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >The hushed solitude of an inner temple chamber, the claustrophobic quarters of a peasant home, the desolate quiet of windswept heights . . . <span style="font-style: italic;">these mark the place of miracles.</span> Here, earth life altered forever—there’s no shrine of remembrance, no tourist destination, no glorious memorial . . .<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">just rubble and dust . . . because that’s where God chooses to play out His story. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >And He sends His angels, His messengers, like winds and flames of fire, these ones who see His face and do His bidding; these ones He commands to carry His news. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >So they announce: to a shriveled priest, to an unimportant girl, to a poor carpenter, to forgotten children and leathery men out in the boonies—to these the angels come, and bring peace. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Why is the angel’s candle “peace”? They disrupted and disturbed everywhere they flew, upset every corner they crammed into, terrorized the landscape they used for a choir loft. They didn’t bark out commands that brought peace to those who obeyed them. The angels didn’t tell anyone what to do. So why did their coming bring peace?<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKze147h90CgdF8NpZh4d9X61BgMH6AXjDwnBenMCv34bYBOJ0BCiAc42643LyyMW3g0XnPOqWmrj__PBk6ldOlssNvLOBTThwAaQW-oZel5m83uYPUXwzSw7vaF7KUYNlFCvJZRQg8k/s1600/a-woman-illuminates-darkness-using-a-match-to-light-a-candle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKze147h90CgdF8NpZh4d9X61BgMH6AXjDwnBenMCv34bYBOJ0BCiAc42643LyyMW3g0XnPOqWmrj__PBk6ldOlssNvLOBTThwAaQW-oZel5m83uYPUXwzSw7vaF7KUYNlFCvJZRQg8k/s320/a-woman-illuminates-darkness-using-a-match-to-light-a-candle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688403288572088018" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-weight: bold;">Angels did not bring orders. They brought news—God’s reality, making order in our world.</span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">They didn’t come with swords and threats, but their message impaled the human soul, and turned existence on its head.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" > <span style="font-weight: bold;">They came singing, and set the world to dancing.</span> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >So this peace . . . it’s the coming of God’s reality: the Director comes onto the stage, and the angels choreograph Him in with music from heaven. We don’t hear these melodies much . . . <span style="font-style: italic;">we’re not listening for them.</span> The prophets heard them before they sounded. Now, their echo pulsates ever-stronger, penetrating every battlement formed against it, melting every resistance with the miracle of <span style="font-style: italic;">imperceptible vibration.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">God speaks His final word, and sends the crazed world reeling. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >All that’s chaos explodes into mayhem, trying to drown out the angel’s song. But all that’s of heaven harmonizes with the messengers, even when it’s crying pain, and groaning for sheer life. Because peace doesn’t mean tranquility—peace means that the Creator is here, and nothing can happen to us outside His control. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Peace means we’re poor shepherds in the fields, tired old men, impressionable young girls, aspiring craftsman—singing the song of heaven.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" > <span style="font-weight: bold;">Peace means we’ve been touched by God, have heard His final word, and surrendered to it as Reality .</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> . . the heaven we can’t see utterly undoing and redoing the world we can see. </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >And He calls us further up, and further in, crawling into our shoddy hiding places with us, rescuing us where we are . . . this heavenly Man. </span></p>Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2251196459358119383.post-58486198853614887322011-12-15T08:08:00.000-08:002011-12-15T08:13:05.744-08:00The Shepherd’s Candle, Part 1<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> 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name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Dear Pilgrim,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVDy8HU5Jx5yNjOuiCWJNEh373NYI-K-dDA0jKZK9hqFqFajDZZglmUlvhGTKZbgNsowkUlU9P_PZEsK04g7ZYCxOXNWKwSJUgXgl24CwFQgGvfCWToE_Msw-43TaAg1JX1JvyK9rSFw/s1600/images.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVDy8HU5Jx5yNjOuiCWJNEh373NYI-K-dDA0jKZK9hqFqFajDZZglmUlvhGTKZbgNsowkUlU9P_PZEsK04g7ZYCxOXNWKwSJUgXgl24CwFQgGvfCWToE_Msw-43TaAg1JX1JvyK9rSFw/s320/images.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686388530160602370" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" ><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >We lit the third candle in our Advent wreath, and basked in the growing illumination. The Shepherd’s candle, pink candle of Joy, it blushes with pulsing adrenaline. Rosy and healthy, laughing and panting from exercise, perspiration dripping down its stout frame. Its life wastes before our eyes, but what triumphant demise! </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >It’s nothing special, a wad of wax and some string, melted into shape, then melted out of shape, till it evaporates or cascades into useless puddles onto the wreath and table. Simple, inexpensive, basic: it lives to be consumed as a memorial of another’s life. Significant only for what it represents, not for what it possesses inherently; still, it melts away merrily. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >Why did the Shepherds have so much joy? Why is their candle different from all the others: that tacky pink that clashes with our decor and insults our sense of refined, contemporary design? </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >Tacky shepherds—low, odd-ball-ish, smelly, ignorant of life’s finer pleasures, bankrupt of education and station and the ability to better themselves—somehow, they possessed this joy. Children brushed aside, shooed to lowly, simple tasks, out of the way, out in the quiet lonely fields.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >The soul sighs: so what Hope is there to keep us going? What Love can spur us to become something more than we have been? What can make this dreary life significant? What if we never can alter what we do? </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >“Do not be afraid,”</span></b><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" > he said first. Fear calculates the future without God.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" ><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Fear believes good will not come.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" ><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Maybe that’s why he said, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">“I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”</b> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >We have to know that God is fundamentally, ultimately <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><u>good </u></b>. . . we see the opposite in our world and in our hearts. We need assurance of what we can barely whisper, wishing it to be true, unsure if it can be . . . knowing we are utterly undone if it is a mirage. What is the point, if there is no good? </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >We just don’t expect God’s revelation to come. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >We don’t look for Him.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" ><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Maybe that’s why He shakes us out of our minds with angelic choruses bellowing His reality. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: you will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”</b></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";" >These stirrings, these cravings, these groans and bellows and heavenly fireworks . . . these mark the journey of Joy, and take us deeper yet . . . . </span></p>Chloe Collinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05120174858537338950noreply@blogger.com0