You know the old cliché: “This is the first day of the rest of your life.” Well, a morning in court will bring a lot of things to the surface, especially when it comes to a long relationship that ends with so much emotional energy tied to it. I hate to call it baggage, but we carry so much around inside of ourselves from the time we are born to the present day that it is inevitable that snags and snares come along to test our mettle and push us reluctantly in a new direction. Today is definitely one of those life changing days.
I paraphrase a song from church:
“Come back to me, with all your heart; don’t let the past, keep us apart. Long have I waited for your coming back to live joyfully our new life.”
I don’t know why these lyrics came to me, but for some reason they say so much about the relationships we have with each other and with our creator god. Yes, there are tumultuous times that come along like a storm or natural disaster, but in the aftermath we find hope in the things that make us who we are; faith, family and friends. I embrace these anchors of strength today as I turn forward away from the wind and rain of the maelstrom and embrace the love of creation that surrounds me. I look to the wooded path and the glass-like calm of a silent lake in solitude and in hope for better days ahead. I put away the anger and frustration of misunderstanding and the hurt that resulted from its insidious nature. I pray for peace of mind and the energy to rebuild something new from out of the ashes. The flood waters have receded and the dawn breaks with sunlight to guide to a new horizon of opportunity.
I once felt so apart from the world that it made me blind to the views of others, especially to the one who stole my heart and made me whole, but now I must let go of this and be like the reed which bends to the will of the wind. As Reinhold Niebuhr so eloquently states in his well known prayer; “God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change what I can and wisdom to know the difference.” I hope that today finds you well fed, well loved and full of the many blessings that our creator so wants for each of us to possess in life. For better or worse, let tomorrow be brighter than today and may God bless you with abundance of joy. Amen. Witt
