Image of the Day: my three companion-bears - BB, Missy and Hopscotch
Token of the Day: mini-jigsaw - lambs, red squirrels, rabbits and ducks
Gail writes: God is our refuge and strength - an ever present help in trouble.
Strength is a developed state, a tool that can be used for good or for bad. In the physical realm we build up strength in our muscles, our stamina, our speed. We might focus on developing power or endurance, static or dynamic strength. And then we can choose to use this strength to overpower others or to build others up.
God uses Her strength in the Old Testament to send storms, plagues, floods and to still the winds, separate the seas, and create rainbows. God is discerning in His use of strength, being in control of this tool rather than it controlling Her. In business planning we are told to do a SWOT analysis to explore and identify our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Our society tells us repeatedly to avoid weakness and threat. Isn't this ignoring our shadows? Jesus embraced the shadows, his own and other people's. The God we encounter in the New Testament walks beside us on the path, feeds us, accepts hospitality, weeps, gets angry, laughs, loves, and dies in order to touch our hearts and minds. Then like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, God gives birth to Herself as Spirit, dwelling in us, working through us. God takes our weaknesses and turns our world upside down. God takes the threats and tames them so that we can see their beauty.
In Tarot, the Strength or Fortitude card is number 8 or 11 in the Major Arcana. Strength is one of the 3 cardinal virtues, alongwith temperance and justice. It stands for moderation in attitudes towards pain and danger, with neither being avoided at all costs, nor actively wanted. The card is usually depicted by a woman and lion. The lion is the zodiac sign, Leo, representing generosity, mercy, sexuality, creativity, and intuition.
In the Unicorn Tarot Strength is a strong male warrior astride a white, highly spirited unicorn mare who is rearing up and ready for action. The warrior holds a spear, the unicorn has a bridle on. It symbolises spiritual protection, personal magnetism, forging ahead to achieve victory, energy and good health.
And in the Medicine Woman Tarot Strength is Healing, depicted by a woman standing under the bough of a tree by a stream. On her shoulder is a child, at her feet are a white bird, a big brown bear and its cub and a lioness. A rainbow is stretching behind them.
For those of you who feel uneasy with Tarot, stay with it. Find an image you feel drawn to and let yourself be guided by your imagination. Why does it speak to you? How do you feel? What is your response to the image?
Through Lent one of the set of images i'm using is Sieger Koder "The Folly of God" meditation pack which follows the Stations of the Cross. The current image on our prayer table is The Cornerstone. Koder refers to Isaiah 53 "through his bruises we get healed". He describes Jesus as the rock of our strength; his heart is the source of his strength.
From where comes my strength?
from the source of all that is
from the Great I AM
who speaks through rainbows, ice crystals, birdsong, invention
who shows Her strength with compassion
and whose strong heart bears all our grief.
What strength do i dare possess?
only that which connects me to the Divine
and to all of Creation.
Yet at times i feel the pull of other strengths
- power over others, knowledge that can harm,
advantages that give me status.
I must learn how to harness it
channel my strengths through prayer
to bring liberation, healing and love
to encourage rather than put down
to collaborate rather than dominate.
Jesus, i am so weak
i look at Koder's image of you falling for the first time
under the weight of the cross
and i see how i am
crushed, defeated, too wounded and too weak to continue
Yet you are not lacking in faith, love or strength
You do not pour scorn on me, you simply bear my burden for me
and carry it while i rest,
heal me while i weep
and pour your strength - the living water
of the Spirit into my being
flooding me with comfort,
renewing my troubled heart
restoring my weakened body
and bringing fresh hope to my soul.
You give away without thought for yourself
humbly receiving us over and again
as we gather, pilgrims on a journey,
at your feet as we reach out trembling hands
seeking healing from You, our Touchstone.
Reading your blog about strength brought to mind trees and the magnificent strength that they posess... I recently read the poem and dedication below and thought i'd share... enjoy...
ReplyDeleteTO MOTHER MARGARET TERESA
ON THE OCCASION OF HER JUBILEE,
ROSARY SUNDAY,OCTOBER 1883.
BY REGINALD E. HORSLEY.
A DARK, tempestuous, drear December day !
Behold ! an oak does battle with the storm.
An ancient giant, o er whose plumed head
The shifting skies of centuries have spread
Alternate canopies of sun and shade.
Full many a triumph has the monarch won
And baffled back the demon of the blast.
Now, once again, the proud old crest is reared
And all day long resists the fierce assault ;
Now, bending till the branches lowermost
Are crushed against the bosom of the earth ;
Now, like Antaeus, from the same broad breast
With freshened strength upspringing from each fall.
At length, at Even when the angry wind
Its frantic force exhausted all in vain
With whistling shriek proclaimed itself o'ercome,
And drave the clouds before it to the sea,
The stars looked down upon a world at peace.
Next morn I wandered through the wooded vale,
Came presently beside the stalwart oak,
And stood amazed to note how little ill
The raging hurricane had wrought thereon ;
Or, rather, how much good, for all around,
Sad-coloured leaves that owned the garb of death, And sap-deserted branches lay in heaps,
But not a living bough had fallen down.
So that the storm, intent to slay the tree,
Had only rent its useless parts away
And blessed it with a newer, stronger life.