Stir

“Lift up your heart to God with a gentle stirring of love.”

I chose the word stir because I have been so struck by the above quote from The Cloud of Unknowing, translated by Carmen Acevedo Butcher. It seems to me that it is God that does the stirring. God’s love stirs me to love. I find God’s love is so gentle yet so powerful that it can move mountains. The seemingly small thing, the thing I hardly notice if it weren’t for the grace of God, causes something inside me to turn from my own agenda to something far better. For example, Fr. Parker, now retired from SLOL, did a blessing on a used car purchased by a resident of the trailer park upon her request. I’d forgotten about all about it, vaguely remembering how we were searching through the Episcopal church’s Book of Occasional Services for a car blessing probably over 8 years ago. I saw her recently. She told me over and over that that old car of hers has never broken down, never died, never let her down since that blessing. God works so quietly keeping things moving forward. What’s there not to love about God’s ways? So gentle. So humble, never seeking glory yet the One who deserves all the glory, leaving all glory behind so we could have freedom. Nevertheless, in the midst of all that freedom and abundant life, is a gentle stirring calling me back, reminding me that I’m loved, so are others, and loved in such beautiful, surprising ways. Chris Rhoads #stir #adventword

Artwork by Robert Flegal, used with permission. Website here