January 28, 2019
On a Monday morning more than two years ago, I shared a poem I’d read. It was my second time through Nancy Thomas’s collection, Close to the Ground, and I’d stopped at the end of the first page to re-read the first poem. That’s when I realized I was doing exactly the same thing I’d done the last time I read Nancy’s book. And this morning, I did it again – opened Nancy’s book, read the first poem on the first page, and then read it over a second time (which might actually be my sixth).
It spoke to me the same way it did back in 2016, so I thought I might share it here, thinking it might be, not just for me, but for us.
Morning Watch
William Stafford, that kind poet,
once told me how he got up
at 4:00 every morning
to sit in the quiet and wait for a poem.
It always came. Stafford filled notebooks
with the fruit of his attention and freely
shared it with the world. I’m grateful
to have been included in that world.
So here am I, sitting in my own
quiet spot by a window. The morning
grows light before me. Trees emerge
and the far hills. Like Stafford,
I’m waiting. Waiting.
I’m not sure how these words feel to you. And I don’t know exactly what they might mean for Nancy, either. But for me, this morning, Nancy’s words feel like worship.
So I’m sitting with Nancy’s words as the morning grows light before me.
I’m paying attention to my breath. I’m listening for what God might have for me today. I’m waiting.
Eric Muhr
Seeds of hope is the three-year campaign to fund the ministry of Barclay Press so we can continue to do the work of developing new titles, supporting small churches, and balancing the budget. As of this morning, we’ve received $1,600 toward our 2019 goal of $56,000. Your support in 2018 totaled just over $50,000!
|
