Inspiration
I recently visited Amsterdam, with its beautiful tall thin buildings, ornately gabled and quirkily crammed together beside criss-crossed canals. I was fascinated by these lean buildings, sandwiched together, exhibiting beautiful long windows, archways and balconies. I have discovered that this was due to the policy of taxing buildings by their width when space was at its premium in the city as Amsterdam prospered from merchant trading in the 1600’s.
A haze of unknowing…
I entered this month with relief, knowing that few work commitments and less travel meant that I would have more time to think, reflect and choose what I do. I quite expected to have efficiently sorted out many things that have been left unattended for a long time, had space and clarity of mind to make decisions that I have put off for too long and stitched with vigour and inspiration. Wrong again!
Instead, I have struggled through a fog of frustration and weariness that has sapped my energy to work and dulled my thinking. I have procrastinated and pondered in a haze of unknowing, unable to make simple decisions or possess the motivation to simply get on with things.
Back to basics…
Its been a busy year and I am weary. My soul struggles to sing when I am weary- and I AM weary…so, so tired.
I’m longing to flourish not just function and now the bulk of projects are coming to an end, I am ready for rest…
I am weary of being a warrior,
Sword ready for action
Striding into new places
Posturing confidence
Smile masking my beating anxious heart.
Poured out, my faith needs filling
My body rebuilding
My soul, sanctuary to sing symphony again…
My heart harnessed again for holiness
Lessons in Harmony…
Recently, I went to a classical concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. One of the pieces of music was so beautiful, I cried… musicians and instruments in perfect harmony with each other, drawn together by the skill of the conductor. They made the music seem effortless, instruments in tune with their bodies, each musician acutely sensitive to and respectful of each other and the part they each played in the whole movement. ….but of course perfect harmony doesn’t come easily…it takes years of effort and practice and hardship, with times of wanting to give up. It takes discipline to continue when it would be so much easier to quit….
I have been ill this month, an inevitability when one after one each family member has succumbed to colds, terrible coughs and flu-like symptoms. I fought it, knowing that I had to work (one of the perils of self-employment!) but what has kept me going when I felt like burying myself in bed for the week has been the recognition early on in the month of my rootedness. It’s a word that has come from my One word ” for the year…dwell
In Ephesians 3, it says this:
“…I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”