Crossing over the river Jordan,
Leaving those other things behind,
Crossing over is the joy I’m having,
And I’m believing;
It’s a whole new state of mind.
He touched my soul,
That set me free,
I could walk on water,
Or nearly.
I found it in a desert land,
Bare feet in the river sand~
Naked,
Walking under a desert sun,
Oh, that life’s nearly done,
Oh, this one’s just begun,
Yes, I’m crossing over,
The river Jordan.
~FS
If it were only the purple brilliance of the newly blooming periwinkle flowers I would be satisfied, but it is also the shimmering green foliage of the boxwoods, glistening with dew in the morning crispness. These things together are magnificent.
It is the arching branch of the apple tree, reaching, and bowing low over the freshly mown grass. And the morning sunlight, still low in the sky, casting a warm glow through the tree and across the grass, where a lively robin can be seen dancing gently, and bowing quickly over its morning meal, saying a brief prayer before eating a worm.
Veronica cascades over a broken-down wall; and sweet Daphne fragrance drifts upon the breeze, intermingled with…is it viburnum? Osmanthus? Yes. All the floral world is alive now and calling to bees and birds to pollinate.
I walk with my dog, slowly, aimlessly, both of us contentedly; neither of us is leashed to anything. My mind is free to wander, and he is enthralled by the base of every tree. With little puffs of warm air he sniffs everything, missing nothing, moving randomly, joyously, from one tree to the next; he is like a tiny steam train, puffing and snorting as he goes, then coming to rest contentedly into the station.—abiding in pleasured stillness, with his head and nose buried deep within worlds unknown to me.
Standing in a forest of flowering currants, surrounded by sword ferns, with bird calls filling the air; all these things working together for the good of man and of beast. We are dwelling, together in an abundance of beauty.
*
Time, like the snow falling, brings a hush in its wake, covering the past in a soft blanket of silence. The sun shines upon us, melting our hearts like the spring thaw, and awakening our consciousness to the bright future unfurling around and within us.
~FS
Approaching You, within my heart,
With nobody else in the way, I ask:
What have I to give you, Lord?
You, who made it all?
Searching, it would seem,
I have only gifts of vanity,
Sundry rationalized items,
Made ‘pure’ in a crucible,
Of base desires and good intentions.
Am I true?
And my gifts to You~
Is there any vein of gold,
In this fool’s dross?
What would You have me give, O Lord?
For I am only a question in the presence of You.
I am filled with every kind of uncertainty,
Shrouded in layers of abject perplexity~
Am I a whisper of your humility?
Or a dissolving vapor of pride?
God, am I Cain or am I Able?
~FS
Prayerful Life 