A Journey

Mary Oliver is one of my favorite all time poets. Several of her poems move me to tears, and one of them is The Journey.

Where are you now? Are you feeling content and happy, or confused and sad? Wherever you are, you are not alone. God is with all of us, no matter what our confused brains begin to tell us... And yet, that does not guarantee any one of us, a peaceful pain free life.

It is my belief that being a follower of Christ- a "Christian" is indeed a lifelong journey. It requires us to stretch every day, to open up our minds, ears and eyes and to see and live with a heart of flesh and not a heart of stone... We are urged by Christ to love and to grown. Personally, I don't think you can fully love without growing constantly. Growth requires us to leave our comfort zone, to take a step into the thin air of faith.

Somedays I weep because I am weary of growth. Other days, I run straight into it full throttle on...

But on this day, I am grateful to know that I am not on this journey alone. Here is a copy of Mary Oliver's poem, The Journey.

The Journey

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice --

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

"Mend my life!"

each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do --

determined to save

the only life you could save.

~ Mary Oliver ~