George Herbert

I love to read, but poetry is usually a stretch for me. I suspect I think mostly in prose ;-) Poetry, like music, has the potential to speak past the mind to the soul and heart. Maybe I rarely take the time to listen. I read fast, but in order to appreciate a poem I must slow down and actually think. Today I took the time (all of five minutes) to read and allow this poem to speak to my heart. Like music, like the psalms, this poem expressed my thoughts and longings more eloquently that I could.

LOVE (III)
by George Herbert


Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack'd anything.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here";
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
So I did sit and eat.

http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/herbert/love3.htm

Stunted Shrub

“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their home and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8 New Living Translation

Stunted Shrub
Dry twigs snap at subtlest pressure;
Rootless bush tumbles.
MY strength, man’s strength, will suffice;
Disciple stumbles.

Fruitless, growthless, lifeless;
Withered, she shakes.
At the whim of surrounding conditions
Rootless one breaks.

Drought resistant tree;
No anxiety.
Life, growth, fruit;
Solid, deep root.
Steady in the storm;
Trust is in the Lord.

Planted in that trust,
Flourish I must.

Betsy Saroni, June 2003

Almost six years after writing that poem it still resonates in my heart. So many days I feel more like the stunted shrub than a tree planted by streams of water yielding abundant fruit. Why? I lose sight of the importance of being rooted in living water. Here the tree has the advantage over me; once planted it is there to stay. I can wander, follow distractions, and choose to ignore the need to stay deeply rooted. If I took a tree and constantly transplanted it, would it ever take root and really flourish? Would it every consistently yield fruit?

I know the answer to my question and my longings, but knowing is not doing. Knowing does not produce fruit. These verses are full of action verbs: trust, makes the Lord their home, does not walk, meditates, abides. Although hearing and knowing the Word is vitally important, I must prove myself a doer of the Word, not a hearer only. (James 1:22-23) It’s time to take my knowledge and live it.

I pray for a verse to focus on each year, and this year it is Colossians 2:6. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him.” The Lord is asking me for more, asking me to take seriously what I read and believe, asking me to make changes in my daily life that will demonstrate I am willing to put action to my beliefs. It’s time to walk the walk, not just in front of my friends and family, but in the secret, hidden places that only Christ sees. It’s time to stop searching for fruit in my life that is visible to all and focus on the hidden, my root system.

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by steams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5

Alone

I've struggled with many things these past seven months that my husband has been deployed, but one of the most difficult and most constant is feeling alone. Alone and responsible. Alone and falling apart. Alone and overwhelmed. Yesterday, I sat crying in the Target parking lot about moving my son to college – alone.
Lord, let's explore this 'alone thing.' Why do I so hate and fear feeling alone? Why do I so desperately want to call and connect with a human when I feel this way? It's an interesting balance because the Lord does want us to support each other and be there for one another. I've had to learn to ask for help and reach out to others. But this time, I think part of what the Lord is teaching me is to come to Him first and to depend on Him and Him alone. Too often I have run to husband or friend, or I have distracted myself with a book or TV rather than running to the Lord.
Lord, how long have I felt alone? I suspect this is not just about the deployment. What is the lie I believe? That I really am alone and have to do it all alone.
What is the truth I need right now, the truth that will soothe my spirit and calm my tears? "I will never leave you nor forsake you." I can't say that immediately stops the weeping. Instead I cry harder because something has been touched within my spirit, something that I don't believe but desperately want to believe. I search the scripture.
John 14:16 "I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever."
John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."
Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid … for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
Joshua 1:5 "Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you."
I pray that I will believe – and be changed. Oh how I pray that I look back on this deployment and all my struggles and see growth and change.
This morning I read the 'wrong' devotion – the wrong date but so appropriate for me. August 18 in Streams in the Desert, entitled (unbelievably) "Alone."

The hill was steep, but cheered along the way

By converse sweet, I mounted on the thought

That so it might be till the height was reached;

But suddenly a narrow winding path

Appeared, and then the Master said, "My child,

Here thou wilt safest walk with me alone."

 

I trembled, yes my heart's deep trust replied,

"So be it, Lord," He took my feeble hand

In His, accepting thus my will to yield Him

All, and to find all in Him.

One long, dark moment,

And no friend I saw, save Jesus only.

The poem ends gloriously, with a description of heaven.

And we who gather in the golden streets,

shall oft be stirred to speak with grateful love

Of that dark day when Jesus bade us climb

Some narrow steep, leaning on Him alone.

I pray 'alone' would forever be an opportunity to "yield Him my all, and to find all in Him."

21st Century Paraphrase of Psalm 23 (from a woman’s perspective)

My Lord shepherds me, continually leading and guiding me, taking care that my needs are met.
He invites me to the quiet of the soul spa where I can lay back and unwind without guilt. He massages my soul until I relax and am at peace.
He insures I follow the ways of truth, justice and holiness. His motives for my right living are simple and pure: ALL for the glory of God.
In the midst of anxiety, depression, grief, panic, despair, or when the world is closing in, Jesus is with me. I can choose to fear or to cling. He lends His walking stick for me to lean and wields His rod to drive away attackers. I rest easy in His presence knowing I will be supported, strengthened and defended.
You escort me to a lavish banquet, and the others present simply do not matter. You pull out my chair and seat me like royalty. My glass is never empty; the feast satisfies me beyond measure. The abundance overwhelms me.
You pour upon me excellence, generosity, virtue – the best part of all that is right – tempered by and with regard to my failings. You grace me with compassion, kindly forbearing and restraining judgement or punishment, not once but every day of my life.
Forever I will seek the presence of God and remain where God dwells.