Streams of Mercy

Spending a few days with an old friend is a great blessing! The time spent remembering our past, sharing today and dreaming about tomorrow was rich and full. How important it is to reconnect with those who knew us “when!”

Both of us are retired, yet still working in our chosen fields on a limited basis. As we sifted through the years of our time together, we remembered God’s faithfulness at every point of turning. Together we celebrated the “remembered goodness of God.”

I recalled a time when I was struggling and went to a retreat center for a few days to “listen” for God’s leading. I was weary and discouraged in ministry, was beginning to feel stirrings of a new sense of “call,” at a time when the last thing I wanted to consider was a move to a new place. I spent some time outside on the grounds my first afternoon there. A wooden cross in a corner garden caught my eye. There were sweetgum trees all around, so little sweetgum balls covered the ground. I picked up a few and started tossing them into the area around the cross. I was hurt and discouraged, and those feelings came together in growing frustration along with the words - “What are you asking of me now?” – I questioned God in those sad moments.

After a while, I wandered into the library looking for a book that might help. I came to a listening center, with cassettes and tapes (that dates this memory!), and pushed the start button on one to see what I might hear. The room filled with a beautiful melody, “All I ask of you, is ever to remember me as loving you.” Over and over that melody played – again and again. It was an answer to the question I asked in the garden, as I hurled those sweetgum balls toward the cross. My heart softened, tears flowed, and in that very moment, I found rest and peace.

I’ve kept that chorus in my heart through the years, and am always touched by its simple beauty and the comfort it brings me. Only this morning I learned that is comes from the Sufi tradition of Islam, the mystical part of the Muslim faith. From its origin as a Sufi song, the poem has become a contemporary song often played in Christian groups. It is called “All I Ask”, and the Benedictine monks of Weston Priory in Vermont produce lovely cards with this tender wish. Gregory Norbet, OSB, wrote lyrics to accompany the beautiful chorus.

I give thanks for wonderful memories, for the dear friend who shares them, and for the “remembered goodness of God.”

Elizabeth