Dear America,
God's World
O World, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists, that roll and rise!
Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!
Long have I known a glory in it all,
But never knew I this;
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart -- Lord, I do fear
Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year;
My soul is all but out of me-- let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.
of course, this beautiful poem from Millay is just as exquisite in springtime.
My eyes laid upon it just this morning, as my Jesus Calling directed me to the Book of Deuteronomy, As a child, at the time of life -- in Sunday School -- when we played, and sang songs, in hopes of memorizing the books of the Bible in their order, Deuteronomy mesmerized me right from the start. It was just fun to trickle it's four little syllables off the tongue; while it sounded like something totally out of this world.
Giving it a second, or third, or hundredth look just now, upon this new day, with these new eyes -- refreshed from the fifty years of experience of life itself -- this girl is simply thinking, and how!
Deuteronomy means a second or repeated law -- and it's origins are Greek; linking to Bible Hub, it tells us a wee bit of its essential background:
"Purpose. To lead Israel to obedience and to warn them against disobedience. The spirit and aim of the law is explained in such a way as to present both encouragement and warning.
Contents. It consists of three addresses of Moses, given on the plains of Moab at the close of the wilderness wanderings of Israel, in which he gives large sections of the law formerly given, together with additions necessary to meet the new conditions. There is also the appointment of Joshua as Moses' successor and the farewell song of blessing of Moses and the record of his death.
Style. The style is warmer and more oratorical than that of former books. Its tone is more spiritual and ethical and its appeal is 'to know God,' 'love God' and 'obey God.'"
If you are a frequent Gthing visitor (FGV), then you will understand that context is everything! (And if you're not a FGV, then now you know :). Each day stands alone with it's own individual, totally original, organically grown, manna of pure thought upon a brand new day -- courtesy of yours truly, in communion with God and the world around us. Sometimes we go low, but most often,we try to go high -- so high we try to touch the sky. Of course, when I say we, I mostly mean me. It's just me, G, saying whatever comes to mind....and some days, and then some! tee hee
Deuteronomy is said to have been written by Moses, recording his last three sermons to God's people, during his last week on the planet! O world, this beautiful world!
Moses was aiming to impress upon the world a new approach, a fresh context and perspective, of just why the Law -- God's commandments -- is not only just, but designed, divined, for our own good! Can I get an amen?!
O to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Deuteronomy 6:5
It's quite simple, actually: when we follow the Word, life leads us out of the desert in every possible way; and when we don't, we experience a certain exile of our own making.
In my Jesus Calling this morning, Sarah Young -- speaking to us through Jesus -- reminds us to turn off the messages of negativity, of deprivation, of life misguided, by way of the surrounding and ever-multiplying media outlets -- and come back to Jesus in the every day; supplementing the diet with what truly feeds our hearts and minds is where we find our strength, the sustenance necessary to actually LIVE a life the way our Lord wants us to live!
Outside our windows, we awake to the news of a new day and a world of hurt -- North Korea's nuclear missile threats, chemical weapons being dropped by a mad man in Syria, Russia wrangling to rearrange the world order, leftists on college campuses shutting down free speech of all things! basically anything and everything that lands outside the mindset where Leftist's live, and a mainstream media that has clearly made its choice. Conservatives have been living their own desolation and a certain loss of faith in their fellow man and countrymen, especially!
And yet, as conservatives and believers who share an unshakable faith in Something Greater, we know that no matter who leads North Korea, Syria, Russia, Berkeley, NBC, CBS, ABC -- God is still on the throne! O world, O beautiful world!
After the last administration, America lost its organically grown and widely respected leverage around the world after a leader, and president, chose to lead from behind. And in a word, or two, or six with nine syllables, this is not the American way!
Never again, never again.
The constant movement of time and events never seems to disappoint; how intricate a plan, how magnificent is the undying urge to know God, to see the world through God's eyes. Just as Edna St.Vincent Millay once gave tribute to God's world, it's as if each of us come to this relationship with God in our own way! [Or we don't! Everyone is free to be, you and me...] But how great Thou art! How great thou art!
Picture this:
For Deuteronomy -- with all of its real time history of history itself, and its prophecy of things to come in the world -- was written approximately 1400 B.C. ! O Israel, O Israel...the world of hurt you have seen... Moses wrote "The Song of Moses" as a way for the Hebrews to remember! Keep a copy of God's laws close, for Moses warned of the law being forgotten over time. It was written in song, as a catchy way for those who could not read or write themselves, to remember! to be able to pass the Word on, to future generations, to have to hold forever!
Humans are weak, indeed. If we go to Romans 7:21 --- we find, "when I want to do good, evil is right there with me." kinda funny if it weren't so true.
Time -- chock-full of rulers and evil doers everywhere -- lurks, and lays a hand upon both the righteous and the wicked in equal measure. And given the times, there have been conversations a-plenty with the what seems to be the beginning of World War III. ugh.
Which made me want to do a quick Wiki check...
Understand that just four score minus four years ago -- give or take a day or two or more -- we were in the very midst of a huge war among nations! And the Allies consisted of these guys: Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek! It's like, really? They were all friends? And upon the other side, the Axis of Evil doers, we have Adolf Hitler, Hirohito, Benito Mussolini!!! The loss of total life, a 100 million people or so, too great to truly count -- including soldiers, civilians, holocaust victims, and the dropping of two atomic bombs upon Japan.
In the end, the allied team wins....? okay.... and we gained the United Nations? okay...and America began to not only stand up for many things, but grow the military power to back it up, day in and day out!
But here's the thing. And it's kinda a big one. The end of WWII found America a military superpower rising within a God-fearing, law abiding, culturally conservative, church going, faithful people; the strength came from a foundation rooted with the history of the faithful, of followers of the Judeo-Christian beliefs, dating back to the last three sermons of Moses and beyond. America recognized the essential element of loving our God with ALL our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength, first and foremost! "O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!"
Needless to say, this perspective, this context, is worthy of a repeat in history; a Deuteronomy take two -- which some might consider an oxymoron, but it's really just another time around; as in, the same verse, same as the first, kind of thing. O Moses, O Moses, where oh where is our Moses?
Time flies and dies and rises again.
O this world - this world that I cannot hold thee close enough -- is not all mine. And yet, I fear not.
And suddenly this seems to be enough said for today.
And besides, what do I know...I'm just a girl, her name is Gretchen. And this, just so happens to be another day in the life of an American Girl.
Make it a Good Day, G
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