Welcome to my blog! I’m glad you are here!
The first thing I am going to share with you is a poem I wrote that I read during church last year. The pitcher of water in the photograph below, as well as in my header at the top of the blog, was on the altar that Sunday morning.
The River
There is a river
that is God,
running right through
my heart, soul, and body.
It is where I live
and have my being.
The pulse and flow of my life
beat within that river.
The dancing light of my joy,
the solemn depths of my sorrow,
the varied stones of my cherished memories
are held safe within that sacred water.
I was born from that river.
In that river I was baptized.
Through that river my sins are washed away.
From that river I drink of the Lord.
Within that river I pray.
To that river I will go when I die.
This holy water
runs through the hearts
of all of God’s children,
every unique person
whom God’s hands have made.
Through the grace of God,
the river is discovered.
With patience and yielding,
there comes softly to the soul
the awareness of a Holy Presence,
greater than can be imagined,
suffused with love and tenderness,
quietly delighted with its beloved creation.
There is a river
that is God
within each of us,
flowing with living water,
giving life and freedom
to all who avail themselves
of its gifts.
Come to the water.
Step in boldly, drink deeply.
The river of God’s love
flows eternally within us,
and we are forever made new
in its life-giving water.
~~~~~~~~~~
So you have read this first poem, and you are saying, “Oh, I like that!”, or “Cool, I love God stuff!”, or “Whaaat??” A short backstory might help here.
I am a Christian, born and raised. Always believed in God, always prayed, always went to church (except for that one time in college when I forgot to go for pretty much four years, whatever ) — Christian, then and now.
Except for these days, it is different.
About three years ago, I experienced a spiritual reawakening. Sort of a jolt to the system. A reboot. A shake-up. An event. Since then, I have longed for the things of God. Time in prayer, worship at church, reading books on spiritual topics — I have been on fire for these things. And my primary response to all this spiritual input, what I call my God-response, has been writing.
Prior to this time, I had written a thing or two here and there, but I hadn’t even been a reliable journaler, much less an actual writer. Now, much to my surprise, I have become a prolific writer on spiritual topics. Samples of the various types of things I have been writing for the past few years is what I will be sharing on this blog.
There is one other type of writing I am doing that started a year after my spiritual reawakening. I had the good fortune to meet musician and composer Mark A. Miller at an organ concert he was giving in November, 2013. Mark is the composer of many of the anthems sung at the church I attend, and his work is in the new United Methodist hymnals, too. After meeting him, I awoke in the night with the first lines of a song in my head — just the words, not the music. The next morning I sent him the words, they resonated with him, and we have been writing together ever since.
Now you know the basics of my story. Enjoy the writing, and I hope it is a blessing to you. Peace!
Lindy Thompson 