This is a favorite prayer of mine.
I offer this as a blessing to you.
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Dear Lord, today I thought of the words of Vincent Van Gogh: “It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.” You are the sea. Although I experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shifts and changes in my inner life, you remain the same. Your sameness is not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover. Out of your love I came to life; by your love I am sustained; and to your love I am always called back. There are days of sadness and days of joy; there are feelings of guilt and feelings of gratitude; there are moments of failure and moments of success; but all of them are embraced by your by your unwavering love.
My only real temptation is to doubt in your love, to think of myself as beyond the reach of your love, to remove myself from the healing radiance of your love. To do these things is to move into the darkness of despair.
O Lord, the sea of love and goodness, let me not fear too much the storms and winds of my daily life, and let me know that there is ebb and flow but the sea remains the sea. Amen.
~excerpt from “A Cry for Mercy” by Henri Nouwen
12 comments:
thank you! i can understand why that's a favourite!
I will be spending a week swimming in the waters of New Hampshire. The sea and her counterparts are my life, I am a mermaid, I swear it!!! :)
Thank you for sharing this. It's beautiful!
That was wonderful! "ebb and flow".. my two new favorite words :)
Enjoy your weekend!
beautiful. thank you.
I got chills reading that; thank you.
the ebb and flow of the sea is always a comfort...
Thank you for posting that!
I NEEDED that today!
You rock!
Thanks for sharing that. What an encouraging prayer! Thank you Lord, that though things in life may ebb and flow- You are my constant!
Absolutely beautiful, John. Thank you for your comment. Yes, a very short life she led. The poem was inspired by the life of Edie Sedgewick in The Factory Girl; The Factory being where Warhol set up shop early on in New York City. She was the "it" girl, and in no time died of an overdose at 28. Sad.
This is really awesome. You sure find some great pics too. ;o)
I so needed to read this one today. Thank You for posting it.
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