One Valley and One Tear at a time

Willing the Will of God from within this Valley of Tears is an insurmountable climb to the mind darkened by forfeited light. Toiling a land that once easily unfolded fruitfully its harvest of abundance is, in this our exile, a burden heavy upon one’s brow. Facing the gale-force winds, we march off in hope of a little sunshine to soften the blow of this hedge-less terrain where can be heard in the wind-swept moments the memory and echoes of a day long past when a walk in the cool of the day was a sheaf that satisfied the weary travellers hungry heart. How pleasant was the summons to will His Will back then before we wedged a tear between His Seamless gaze and our naked innocence. Willing now the Will of God without the garments of innocence that once clothed us has become for us a struggle that cannot be hid. We appear unseemly to one another and rightfully so for we seem not to appear aright in our own sight. How is it that willing has become so toilsome? To will back the days of His unforgettable Seamless gaze has become the brow bending burden that time after time results in thistles and weeds. I cannot will back those days anymore then I can erase their memory. Yet where there is a will there is a way and this Way is the Truth and the Life who wills from atop the burden-board the strength to harvest hope amidst a valley known for its tears. We may still have to face the gale-force winds for a time but as we now march out we march not alone for we’ve found the ‘little’ bit of sunshine that softens the blow through the gift of the golden sheaf of wheat that strengthens us to will the impossible, one valley and one tear at a time. Are we naked without shame yet? No! But naked with hope. As the summons to will His Will dawns daily upon us the only tear that separates His Seamless gaze and our nakedness is the ‘Tear’ in His Son’s Burden-Bent-Body from which flows the coveted golden sheaf that strengthens our ‘I do’ to His summons to ‘live’ forever.

Have mercy on me O Willingly Afflicted Lamb. Amen

I’ve been living with the enemy since conception. I’ve been ‘Washed’ but the enemy’s chokehold has remained firm and although I’ve been equipped with a 'Soldier’s Seal’ the misery of combat follows me like a humiliating shadow. I’ve been ‘Nourished weekly’ to head back to the battlefield only to find myself so easily famished that having barely left the Nurturing Table I am well willing  to ingest whatever may tantalize the palate. So I reveal the enemy-within to the Light who is want to come in and dine only to discover that the enemy-within seems to refract the rays of Light thereby lessening His radiance in my guerrilla warfare like soul. How is it that the enemy-within is allowed to remain when evening draws nigh so suddenly? The enemy-within makes everything seem so pleasant to one’s darkened understanding that the feeble will of Man learns to love its pleasantries  with little persuasion.

Face down in a losing trench I cannot help but wonder where the backup artillery is that has been promised. To what avail is the face down side of life? Does the trench reveal a secret to confound the enemy-within that is only learned while face down in its smothering grip?

I’ve been taught to believe and esteem the ‘Washing’, the ‘Seal’, the ‘Table’, and ‘the revealing to the Light’, but when experience shows them to be no match in appearance at least for the enemy-within’s staggering feet what is one to do. I know not what to do. I am lost in the dark it seems with no comfort except from the enemy-within. Where O Lord is the grace that is sufficient for my need? Where is the power that is manifested in my weakness? Have mercy on me O Willingly Afflicted Lamb. Amen