Streams of Mercy
In recent weeks, I’ve been re-reading Jan Karon’s Mitford series. The series is the ongoing story of Father Timothy Kavanaugh, his bride Cynthia, their black lab Barnabas, their adopted son Dooley, and the memorable folk who call the small town of Mitford “home.” This series is one of the treasures in the Jackson Springs Presbyterian Church Library, a labor of love by the late Sarah Ruth Currie Thompson. This is the only room in our church basement untouched by the waters of recent storms. Many credit that to Sarah Ruth’s watchful care over this spot so dear to her heart!
One of those books, A Continual Feast , is filled with quotes that mean a lot to Father Tim, those quotes coming from a number of different sources. These are among my favorites:
“Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering or he will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually: The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart has trusted in Him, and I am helped. He is not only with me, but in me and I in him.”
“We are, finally, all wanderers in search of knowledge. Most of us hold the dream of becoming something better than we are, something larger, richer, in some way more important to the world and ourselves. Too often, the way taken is the wrong way, with too much emphasis on what we want to have, rather than what we wish to become.”
“Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ and go out into the irresistible future with Him.”
“As Christians, we can’t love the whole world. But we should remember that God has placed us in a specific community at a particular time. We are called to love those around us.”
“Be like the bird … be like the butterfly…”
“Lord I know not what to ask of Thee; Thou knowest what I need; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself. O Father, give to Thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not ask either for crosses or for consolations … I simply present myself before Thee. I open my heart to Thee. Behold my needs which I know not myself; see and do according to Thy tender mercies.”
“To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This should be one’s symphony.”
“Let us make the most of all that comes…and the least of all that goes…”
“Storms make oaks take deeper root; God preserves His order despite our chaos.”
“If you judge people you have no time to love them.”
“The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.”
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
“You know you’re getting old when you stoop to tie your shoes and wonder what else you can do while you’re down there.”
“Keep a clear eye toward life’s end. Do not forget your purpose and testing as God’s creature. What you are in His sight is what you are, and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing you have received, but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”
Giving thanks for this “continual feast” of inspiring thoughts to help along life’s way, and for those streams of mercy, never ceasing.
Elizabeth