The sunset embers smolder low,
The Moon climbs o’er the hill,
The peaks have caught the alpenglow,
The robin’s song is still.
–John L. Stoddard (1850–1931)
I’m trying to look forward and upward. Sorrow tugs at me still. Today, Larry’s been gone 11 months. Soon, a year will have past. This quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson grabbed my attention, but when I found it came from him I let myself think about what he said and I don’t really like it as much. It conveys the idea that to choose one is to put away or reject the other. Sorrow puts away faith, or faith puts away sorrow. But the Scripture reminds us over and over that our sorrow draws us near Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Some good meaning people say these tidbits of advice. “You just need to have more faith.” “Stop looking back.” “Focus on the future.” “Just move on.” “You’ve got let go of the past.” “You just need to live in the present.” Thankfully, God’s Word makes it clear that sorrow and faith can be melded together. They are not in opposition to one another. In scripture and in life we see over and over again that great faith is uniquely evidenced in the midst of deepest sorrow. Psalm 126–5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Recently, a friend sent me a photo of Larry and I that I’d sent to her long ago. When I opened the envelope and saw the image, I smiled. That is the joining of faith and sorrow. Not looking back, closes a door shutting away not just sadness but good memories. I praise His name today and am so thankful for His faithfulness.
My Harrison kids’ Grandmother had a bad wreck yesterday on Capps Road. Praying for a full recovery.
Can’t go back, but if I could I would appreciate her more and tell her often. Can’t go back. Can’t go back.
Today Sigrid is doing the commentary for the swim team with her friend Brooks. I signed on and listened a while and she said “I’ll be back in a minute. I’ve got to go pee.” Too much information. I don’t think she knew we could hear her. Maybe Sig will go into broadcast journalism for a career.
1 21 21
Can you think of a palindrome?
Kingston, AR is a small town near where I grew up. It’s one of the oldest villages in Arkansas and has had a post office since 1856. It still has one today. I love our US Postal Service because I love getting letters. Two faithful friends write me letters—Mary Bourne and Jonell Gatlin. Sometimes, I even get a package. Once when I was feeling low, my friend Amy sent me some soothing tea in a sweet letter.
The other picture is the post office at Ben Hur, AR. It is no longer in service. The folks at Ben Hur now get their mail addressed to the Pelsor Post.
We used to get all bills in the mail, but now they only want to send them email. My Dad called bills “duns”. Webster defines dun as noun and adjective forms that relate to color. It probably comes from German roots, and may be related to the word dusk, as a dun color has a dull quality that you might associate with dusk or fading light. A dun horse is called a Dun. As a verb, to dun means to attempt to collect an overdue bill.
Junk mail is just what the term says and it’s annoying. We don’t get quite as much of it as we once did. Even if we had a “do not mail” list it’d probably be as successful as the “do not” call one. When I worked with Pooch McCollum, he saved all his junk mail in paper grocery sacks just to see how much it amounted to in a year.
Do you write letters?
2 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it
L
