http://www.gettymusic.com/lyrics.asp?id=88
It feels like a red sort of hour.
I attended the closing Eucharist at the Women's Cursillo weekend and it was more than what I was expecting. Truth be told, I went so that I could see my Bishop celebrate a Eucharistic feast (I was beside myself that it was a special feast day)... in my "home" parish in St. Albert. The RC Church that I grew up in. That aspect of the evening was amazing. I don't think I stopped smiling the whole Eucharistic prayer.
Then, You are my All in All was sung. I started tearing up. Sometimes we are just not in a place to hear the words, "Jesus, you are my All in All.... you are the strength for me when I am weak, that it is when I fall down that my Jesus picks me back up again."
However, then the song... "In Christ Alone" was sung.
The friend and support I attended the service with took my arm into hers and wouldn't let me fall. She held me up on my feet when my legs didn't have the strength to do so on their own.
Coming back to "MJ's" house, the rest of the evening was lovely... and a wonderful distraction - that was, until, "MJ" gave me a hug goodnight and I crumbled once again.
I guess the really "grace of God" thing in all of this is that it is not just in Christ alone that we find our strength to keep going, it is not in Christ alone that we can find hope and place all our fears - it is also in the presence of angels.
Angels whose work is (I believe), in the name of Christ... but truly become the hands and feet of Christ in the world. They hold your hand when you are biting your lip from crying, they lock their arm in yours and catch you from falling, they dry your tears, warm up "hugging bags", offer to pray with you, annoint you, listen to the screams, cries, fears, and worries. They even tell you that you can wake them up in any hour of the night or watch any of their 230 DVD's, or tell you goofy stories at the most crushing times.
And, on their angelic wings, they pick you up and carry you along until your feet are under you once again.
4 comments:
Thanks Angela.
May God's peace be upon you, and his presence be near as you live out all that these days hold for you.
Yes, Angels do exist. When I lived my nightmare almost 7 years ago, I too thought I'd never wake from it (it has to be a nightmare because it's too horrible). I'd wake up in the midle of the night my heart pounding, gasping for air, scream caiught in my throat, wanting to run but knowing I couldn't get where I wanted to be. What made it bearable were the hands, and arms and faces of Christ all around me. Those little cherubs whom I had never noticed, who came out of nowhere to provide exactly what you described: warmth, love, an arm to lean on, someone to scream at, someone simply to be there so you didn't have to face the dark alone. With their help we can endure. I can tell you that the nighmare does end. There is hope no matter how bleak it looks from the inside out.
As we hope in the Lord
We will gain our strength
We will run for miles
We will stand up straight
We will not grow weary
We will not grow faint
On the wings of an eagle we will rise
Thank you randall.
And yes xristo, you are right. I think the difficulty comes in allowing those faces of Christ... those hands and feet of Christ to take their course - and to submit ourselves to Christ's healing power.
Ahh Angela, you hit the nail on the head. We have a problem submitting! We have been taught by our culture that we must be strong, that we must fend for ourselves, that we can overcome alone. Submitting, allowing others to lift us up IS difficult. And submitting to God's will and Christ's healing power can be even more challenging. Thine will be done. We say it daily (err, usually) but it involves relinquishing control, admitting our own limits, allowing Christ to work in us directly and through others as He sees fit. It would be so much easier if he laid it out for us so we could see it and give it our OK!! :) Blessings!
Post a Comment