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Archived 11/01:A Message From the Pastor
Rev. Alice Ann Bonham
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This article is from an "E" Service to which I
subscribe. It seemed an appropriate time to share. A MIRACLE MORNING In her poem "Aurora Leigh," Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote: Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes, The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries. I have certainly plucked my share of blackberries, blind to what wonder there is in life. But on occasion I have also had my eyes opened by others, a bit more sensitive and aware. I cherish those moments and recall them when life gets too routine and ordinary. One such incident occurred many years ago. I stumbled out the door of a mountain cabin where I was spending the weekend working with youth and their families at a rustic retreat center. I had a 6:30 a.m. appointment to keep and squinted from the early autumn sun peeking over pine-blanketed mountain tops. "Today is a miracle!" spoke a young, enthusiastic voice behind me. I turned toward the radiant face of my teen-aged friend. |
"How?" I asked her. I
wasn't sure if I could handle any excitement this early in
the morning. "Think about it," she smiled. "The sun rose, didn't it?" "Yeah." I found it easy to hide any enthusiasm. It seemed to rise on every other morning without any help from me. "That's a miracle! It is miraculous that the earth turns as it does. At night, the sun goes down and in the morning it rises. It just happens!" I pretty much had this figured out years ago, I thought as I rubbed sleep from my eyes. I was also busy thinking about how to get a cup of coffee. "And look at the mountains! Covered with trees and grass, they look so beautiful. And there," she pointed, "a valley, it's all a miracle!" 'What have I stumbled into?' I thought. 'And where is the coffee?' "Wildflowers blooming," she continued. "It all smells so fresh and clean and so good." She took a deep breath. Her blue eyes sparkled. "All of nature receives water and light. Things grow and blossom -- it is all so beautiful." Maybe it wasn't coffee I needed...but whatever she had gotten into! |
I didn't know it was her
bubbly personality or the freshness of the morning, but I began
to sense her enchantment with the daybreak. A little, anyway.
Somehow, she had me believing that the day did hold a certain
magic. Then, with a smile which seemed to make her blond curls laugh, she gave her pronouncement a note of finality. "And best of all, it will happen again tomorrow. And the next day! And the next!" She sighed. "It's a miracle morning!" My young friend showed wisdom beyond her years. For her, earth was "crammed with heaven" and "every bush afire." She should never want for happiness, for she had already learned, at such an early age, to find wonder in the commonplace and to feel gratitude for the ordinary. If each day for her is a miracle, then a lifetime will be no less than a marvelous extravaganza! During these days of uncertainty and trouble, we need to ask ourselves if we see "Earth crammed with heaven" or if we're just sitting around picking berries. I pray that we will all be able to see and believe that God is here with us. God bless. Pastor Alice Ann |
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