My foot is broken (5th metatarsal). Without rest it wont heal. This is also true for every part of you. Your spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health need rest. Whether things are calm or chaotic, rest is essential. Rest will shepherd you from an illusion of control and lead you to the larger narratives of love and justice.
Holly pond
A plastic folding chair with the arm torn off, resting in the vertical remnants of a pier that once was.
This was his post, the launching point of a thousand mornings.
A place where coffee and gliding geese folded the seams of days yet to be.
But now, there is only grass, water, and this chair with the arm torn off.
The meteorologist gave all the signs.
Two pressure systems colliding in a place called tornado alley.
The barn, the house, the fence and dock.
Nothing was spared except those who can't be replaced.
The years of turmoil, sweat and striving now scattered in the pasture and across the county line.
And as he sits, maybe for the first time, he thinks less of what was lost, and smiles.
Then glide in the geese, folding the seam of a day yet to be.
- B. Oaks
“To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”