Friday Meditation - 3 April 2020
Friday Meditation
…with love from Audrey (Pastor Audrey Ward)

Mady, writing from London, sent a photo of a park where she walks that is usually bustling with people, now silent. And there he is, this handsome blue heron who allowed her to come close enough to take a picture in the peace of the afternoon.
         
Of course that reminded me of the poem I have so often quoted. Here, then, are Jane Hirshfield’s words titled, Hope and Love, from the anthology Bright Wings :
All winter
the blue heron
slept among the horses.
I do not know
the custom of herons,
do not know
if the solitary habit
is their way,
or if he listened for
some missing one—
not knowing even
that was what he did—
in the blowing
sounds in the dark.
I know that
hope is the hardest
love we carry.
He slept
with his long neck
folded, like a letter
put away.
Friday Music for the Heart
"I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" - The Isaacs
In these days of social distance, we are called to meet apart.
Still we pray for one another, hold each other in our hearts.
If this time indeed is holy, we must keep it truly so.
Even in our isolation, God’s rich blessings overflow.
We avoid the world’s distractions, set our minds on things above:
Patience, kindness, goodness, mercy, faith, joy peace, abiding love.

R.G. Huff 3/17/2020