What is sacred about all of our lives, even those of us who would never dream of using such a word for it, is that God speaks to us through what happens to us - even through such unpromising events as walking up the road to get the mail out of the mailbox, maybe, or seeing something in the news that brings you up short, or laughing yourself silly with a friend. If skeptics ask to be shown an instance of God speaking to them in their lives, I suggest that they pay closer attention to the next time when, for unaccountable reasons, they find tears in their eyes.
-- Frederick Buechner
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Full Moon at 41
On a birthday when the days are short And the sun is elsewhere giving warmth I wondered what might best be done To wish you light for 41
So I asked the silence for its help Some guidance as I wish you well
How Gracious of Life To schedule this light And allow me to share it On the threshold tonight While so many pine for the past like worn pages Your new decade starts with the lamp of all ages
This day was a new moon the year we would meet The dark had some wonderful secrets to keep Maybe this year is lit for the path we now see But which spirals ahead into new mysteries:
To encourage the faith that has led to this mark To comfort our hearts in the winter and dark To remind us that beauty and grace remain timeless And created by Love, for a culture that’s frightened
Of getting too old to be scared anymore Of missing the mark of the suburban norm Of painting their picture outside of the lines Of loving themselves well enough to be kind Of losing the comforts that keep them afraid Of trusting the mystery by which they were made Of growing old thanking each birthday for life Of thanking the light for its glory at night
Happy 41st birthday, Janie, in this dawn of 2001 May you grow in wisdom and love with the softness of the earth herself.
I love you
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