Streams of Mercy

My youngest child sent this to me this week. It was sent to her as an email from a friend, with no source given. It’s very helpful in dealing with what can come our way in life, and in helping us to help others.

“When a flashlight grows dim or quits working, you don’t throw it away, you change the batteries. When a person messes up and finds themselves in a dark place, do you cast them aside? Of course not, you help them change their batteries! Some need AA ... attention and affection; some need AAA ... attention, affection and acceptance; some need C ... compassion; some need D .. direction. And if they still don’t seem to shine .. simply sit with them quietly and share your light.”

This lovely poem by Ann Weems shares a similar theme:

“I’d Write for You a Rainbow”

“If I could, I’d write for you a rainbow

And splash it with all the colors of God

And hang it in the window of your being

So that each new God’s morning

Your eyes would open first

to Hope and Promise.

If I could, I’d wipe away your tears

And hold you close forever in shalom.

But God never promised

I could write a rainbow,

Never promised I could suffer for you,

Only promised I could love you.

That I do.”

Another beautiful poem by Ann Weems is helpful.

“Reaching for Rainbows”

“I keep reaching for rainbows

Thinking one God’s morning

I will wake up with rainbow ribbons in my hair,

With hurts painted over in hues

that only angel wings could brush,

Black, obliterated, chaos hurled

Beyond the rainbow and my vision,

The world created in a myriad of colors.

The hungry fed, the dying held;

The maimed walking, the angry stroked;

The violent calmed, the oppressed freed;

The oppressors changed,

and every tear wiped away.

I know the promise of the rainbow …

I keep thinking I’ll turn a corner one day

And find a litany of rainbows

Flung across the sky,

Hosannaing back and forth

through all the ages and

out into eternity forever amen!

Every tear wiped away - It’s a promise –

When we become rainbows to each other.”

May these thoughts help us to help ourselves and each other as we live with the ups and downs of life from day to day.

Elizabeth