Dream Awakener

Otoño en un jardín llamado Francia…

Originally uploaded by caminanteK

“Lord, there’s always a catch.
I get hooked on the green pastures
and still waters.
I could spend my time very nicely
lying in the summer grass.
Content.

And if I felt really energetic
I’d open my eyes
and watch the clouds sail by,
safely, far overhead.
That’s where clouds should be.

But when those clouds draw think chill curtains over the sun,
their shadows racing over the ground,
I shiver.
And when then come down to ground level,
my level,
shrouding me in mist,
I walk a panic path of fear.
The still surface of my peace shattered.
Rough rippled
by the first breath of wind over the water.

Are these the paths of righteousness?
I pick my way through,
hesitating at every step.
Worried that when I move
my foot may slip, my ankle twist.
And, sometimes, putting out my hand,
there’s nothing there.
Or so it seems.

And yet, somehow a strength is there.
Supporting me.

The shepherd takes me high to pasture,
over rocky paths.
Calling me to effort.
I climb,
struggling through thorn thickets,
the way marked by scraps of wool
torn from the fleece of my self-satisfaction.
It makes me breathless.
But you are there.

Counting the sheep.
Knowing when I stray.
Giving your life to rescue me.
Taking me, each day,
nearer the fold.”

Eddie Askew (Facing the Storm)