yesterday was the national day of prayer. i got invited to go to an event that a group of cool women i know were hosting to bless and pray for women who serve other women in denver. it was just one of those odd moments where i knew i needed to go. i rsvp’d and passed the info onto some friends but didn’t worry about coordinating who was doing what and where and how; i knew i just needed to get my butt down there on my own and get a little God infusion. ah, it was good for my soul in all kinds of ways. simple, sweet. powerful.
i knew when they opened with a beautiful quote by dorothy day i was in the right place! there was space to listen to God, lovely blessing, a reminder of the courageous women who have gone before us and have encouraged us on our journies, a powerful body prayer & time of receiving. the following poem was shared with a reflection at the beginning & the end. it is from a book that is next on my amazon list, leading from within: poetry that sustains the courage to lead by sam intrator & megan scribner. i thought i’d share it with all of you this bright, clear, friday.
i know some of you are tired & confused & disoriented. other are afraid. others need strength and courage to lead, to keep walking, to not give up, to try. and yet others feel lonely & desperate for God’s touch. ah, and some of us are all of those things at once and more! in the midst, i hope we can all somehow rest in the trough:
The Trough
by Judy Brown
There is a trough in waves,
a low spot
where horizon disappears
and only sky
and water
are our company.
And there we lose our way
unless
we rest, knowing the wave will bring us
to its crest again.
There we may drown
if we let fear
hold us in its grip and shake us
side to side,
and leave us flailing, torn, disoriented.
But if we rest there
in the trough,
in silence,
being in the low part of the wave,
keeping our energy and
noticing the shape of things,
the flow,
then time alone
will bring us to another
place
where we can see
horizon, see land again,
regain our sense
of where
we are,
and where we need to swim.
amen.