measure well

Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued.
“With the measure you use,
it will be measured to you…and even more.
Mark 4:24

(a hungry cardinal / Carrollton, Ga / Julie Cook / 2015)

“You get as good as you give”…
or so the saying goes.
You offer kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity…
Only to be swindled, taken advantage of and then run amuck with bad luck, bad health, bad times.
Loss, suffering, pain, struggles, sadness and woe.
You fuss and curse a God, you may or may not know…
You curse Him for not preventing, thwarting or stopping all the bad which befalls you.
“Where is the returned measure of favor which SHOULD be shown?” you grouse.
You hear the voices from within and without shouting
“it’s not fair, it’s not right…”
nor is it just…

And you’re right, it’s not….it’s not fair nor just.
But God never said to do good or be good in order to get good..
He said do good, be kind, give much, forgive…all without ceasing.
If they take…give
If they take again, give more
If they strike…turn and afford them to strike again
If they curse…bless
If they scorn…love
All to be measured outward… without ceasing

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:27-36

So use your measure well…making certain that your measured output is greater than your measured intake…

What waits amongst the hope

“Hope” is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops — at all….
Emily Dickinson, c.1861

(tufted titmouse sits amongst the branches of a tulip tree/ Julie Cook / 2014)

What waits amongst the hope of a season’s waning cheer?
What waits amongst the hope of yet another passing year?

What waits amongst the hope of a rainy December day?
What waits amongst the hope in a sky so dull and grey?

What waits amongst the hope hidden in a darkened room?
What waits amongst the hope of a single tiny bloom?

What waits amongst the hope for a lonely face so sad?
What waits amongst the hope for a weary world gone mad?

What waits amongst the hope of the joy of a coming Spring?
What waits amongst the hope of the story of the new born King?

What waits amongst the hope of humankind this year to be?
Our hope is soon forth coming for all the world to see.

For unto to us a child is born, for us a son now given.
He comes as Hope made manifest for all our sins forgiven.

errors

“the greater number of a man’s errors come before him disguised under the specious form of necessity; then, after error has been committed in a moment of excitement, of delirium, or of fear, we see that we might have avoided and escaped it.”
― Alexandre Dumas

“It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride.”
― John Ruskin

(Blooming quince with small emerging fruit / Julie Cook / 2014)

Softly sweet, she bends gently in the breeze.
Like a thousand stars in an endless sky, tears glisten, falling down her cheeks,
The wicked words piece tender hearts ’til all her blood runs dry

Gentle demure petals bruise too quickly–
falling away, one by one. . .
He picks up the remaining flower, seemingly oblivious to the unfolding drama

Dark secrets hide in the shadows.
A long and twisted past clings to her bare skin.
She is lost in the misery she hides

Stones are prepared as He now slowly turns to look. . .
eyes quietly meet for the first time
Loss and fear desperately cry out to hope and mercy

A sad sorrowful soul is vexed
as its resigned head bows down to death
Suddenly a single statement is powerfully uttered, sending stones falling from anxious hands

The pious now quickly scatter, carrying away their own guilt
Only two remain present, misera et misericordia
Hope looking up, offers His hand to the remaining hopeless

She could be anyone of us
as the sins continue pounding the rocky shore
In the blink of an eye, the sea is calmed as the world is now quiet.

All is forgiven you.
Go.
Sin no more.