Healing

We have to stop closing our eyes...

Tree

Not alone; in peace

and freedom I sway my branches,

dance in the breeze,

worshiping in the rain.

A cool rain that soaks deep,

soaks gently, splashing off

my new growth, running down

last years branches, sinking under,

lower, further, into the hidden places.

Not alone; in stillness

I see the night come. See

the fading light offer stars that

come silently and move their

dream-like pictures across my sky.

A waxing moon slides past.

It keeps its secrets or maybe

whispers them to the stars,

or the angels. I don't mind.

They are humble, never jealous that

all day long the sun overpowers them.

They are faithful, never out of

formation, always on time.

Men trust their lives to the

stars, sailors to the night-sky-truth.

I trust mine to the sun's promise

of tomorrow.

Not alone; I soak in light,

in sunlight. My leaves stretch, grow

larger, and become deeper hues. I grow,

and no one sees me,

and no one hears me,

until I am strong enough to bear the

weight of a tree house,

or am filled with fruit.

Anonymity is fitting for me;

Rain, stars, and sun I contain.

Enough, and Relationship

Ok, enough with marriage posts. Why? Because it's a heck of alot of fun being single!

[note to friends: NO I am not posting as a rebellion against all the weddings happening]

Being single. Ahh. The refreshing winds of freedom. I call it my time of being boss. No sanctifying influence of another person you have to live with day in and day out, that you have to love when they are being irritating. Our burdens come from other places.

Like loneliness. How do we deal with that? Do we look at couples being cute and pine away? I propose not. I mean, looking sounds nice, but not pining away. I say...pray.

Prayer. To me, prayer has been the sweetest gift found in my singleness. It succours the loneliness. It brings answers. It brings adventures and challenges and dares even. It is scary and exciting and risky and fun, but it's also safe, romantic, comfortable and secure.

Of course, this kind of prayer does not happen in one day. Or one week. It is a lifestyle, and it isn't as easy as that paragraph made it sound. But it isn't hard either. It's plain old good. The safety grows with our knowledge of God's faithfulness, the risk with our ability to hear his voice of direction.

I used to think that singleness was a trial. I would 'suffer' through all kinds of unfulfilled emotions. Then I got into this prayer thing. The emotions are still there. But the suffering has turned into a relationship.

And relationships are what I'm all about.