Word in the Hand

Wasteland sunset I will hold the Lord for ever in my sight:   with him at my side I can never be shaken. Thus it is that my heart rejoices,   heart and soul together;   while my body rests in calm hope.

St Melangell  Psalm 85  Turn your ear to me, Lord, and hear me,   for I am poor and destitute. Keep my life safe, for I am faithful;   O God, save your servant, who trusts in you.

You care for me as a shepherd for a lamb; Finding fields of  fragrant clover; Pools of clear water; A haven for my soul. With You I walk in ways of truth. Death holds no fear for me; Depths of despair will not bind me; For you have not left me alone; You guard me with weapons of truth and justice. You feed me with the Bread of Life; Despite those who rage against me; Blessed by your Love; I can ask for no more. Every day of my life is filled with You; My resting place in Your arms Forever. wordinthehand 2010 in response to the Round Robin Challenge http://outmavarin.blogspot.com/

As for the holy and noble men of the land, in them is all my delight.

I stretch out my arms to you I stretch out my soul, like a land without water.

 You will show me the paths of life, the fullness of joy before your face, 

Tell me the way I should follow, for I lift up my soul towards you.

O Lord, teach me your paths, and I will come to your truth. Make my heart simple and guileless, so that it honours your name.

“You are my shelter and my strength, my God, in whom I trust.”

my heart rejoices, heart and soul together; while my body rests in calm hope. Lindisfarne Abbey;Holy Island

Psalm 131 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.               Amongst others, St Monica is the patron saint of abuse victims; difficult marriages; disappointing children; mothers; victims of unfaithfulness; victims of verbal abuse and widows. I n other words, I suppose, the patron saint of those who refuse to give up even when love is not lovely; who know how suffering and love can exist in the same breath and who actually do believe that love will conquer all. And the fact that it took Monica so many years of prayer and tears gives comfort to those whose love is driven by perseverance and hope.   The readings for today are all about this maternal and wifely devotion; some of the images having me feeling distinctly way down the 'good wife and mother' scale. But I am not just a wife and mother; I am also a grandmother and this...

I was one voice, Lord Singing your faithfulness and your compassion A song that repeated my own heart ‘I will love you always’. The heavens caught the air Stars bursting with melody across the skies The metre marking light speed In praise of Love eternal. As above, so below The rhythm of Earth’s lifeblood throbbed. The cadence of the tides Love’s own heartbeat. The compass of the Universe turned Drawing harmony and counterpoint together Creation wove the score in rainbow shades A celestial symphony. Magnificent, but too much I am just one voice in this song of the spheres And all so far above me I have lost my place. Only a sigh, Lord But a remembering of where we first met In the pause between breaths In the rest of a heartbeat. That is where you are, Lord The music refined by the mystery of your Presence Your song to me in the spaces between ‘Always, I will love you’. wordinthehand09

I rest in the Sanctuary of the Lord Knowing that God alone is my refuge. I am deafened by the worlds demands Overwhelmed by its rages and torments The seas swell and the mountains quake The uproar of mans greed echoes through the night Angry voices call out for revenge Broken hearts for rescue. But not here Here is a Holy Place This, my refuge Deep as a mountain pool Hopeful as the dawn sun The home of the Most High Heart’s ease is here Soul’s friend is here Spirit’s food is here My Lord and my God The Lord speaks and the world melts away Be still and know that I am God Be still and know Be still wordinthehand09