TheSpaceForGrace Newsletter

GraceNotes: Holding the Space for … Reflection

#52 — August 1, 2016

Greetings, Inspired Seekers!

In the hot, sultry days of August, life either speeds up with activity or slows down to a crawl. Whichever track life takes, this is a time for a simple piece of poetry. A poem that will hold us or release us, move us or steady us, rev us up or calm us down. And so, for this month, my prayer is that these words from Rainer Maria Rilke will fill whatever need is within:

I’m too alone in the world, yet not alone enough
to make each hour holy.
I’m too small in the world, yet not small enough
to be simply in your presence, like a thing --
just as it is.

I want to know my own will
and to move with it.
and I want, in the hushed moments
when the nameless draws near,
to be among the wise ones --
or alone.

I want to mirror your immensity.
I want never to be too weak or too old
to bear the heavy, lurching image of you.

I want to unfold.
Let no place in me hold itself closed,
for where I am closed, I am false.
I want to stay clear in your sight.

I would describe myself
like a landscape I’ve studied
at length, in detail;
like a word I’m coming to understand;
like a pitcher I pour from at mealtime;
like my mother’s face;
like a ship that carried me
when the waters raged.

Grace-Fully Yours,
Reverend Deborah

Monthly Affirmation: I am unfolding every day.

The Reverend Dr. Deborah Darlington assists people of all faiths in their spiritual journeys. Get out your GPS and give her a call: 215 260 1611 or: GraceMatters@TheSpaceForGrace.com.