Thursday, June 23, 2016

Strength renewed

"...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary."

This is the time of year when United Methodist preachers are on the move, like cattle to the market.

Four years ago this week we arrived in Eunice for a new appointment. 

Two years ago we arrived in Jefferson for the opening of a church start. We moved things into a house near the church.

Last year this week we arrived in Coushatta for our new appointment. 

This year, thank God, we're not moving anywhere.

Still, it's June, and the heat is on. It's the week of Vacation Bible School, and I feel like a dump truck has run over me. I am tired, for no real reason, so I must renew my strength in hope of the Lord. It's just that time of the year when the heat and the mundane tend to gang up on someone.

I read a poem by Langston Hughes that sums it all up, I think.

"Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more—
“I got the Weary Blues
And I can’t be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can’t be satisfied—
I ain’t happy no mo’
And I wish that I had died.”
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead."

I need to have my strength renewed... clearly


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