One of my favorite poets is Wendell Berry. I recently came across some words from him
that have stayed with me:
It may be
that when we no longer know what to do
we have
come to our real work,
and that
when we no longer know which way to go
we have
come to our real journey.
The mind
that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.
What he means, I suppose, is that without hardship
we are never find the fullness of our life’s calling, our true voice. Without bumps in the road, washouts, and
detours, we never get where we are truly meant to be. “The
impeded stream is the one that sings.”
The choir at the church I have been attending
recently sang an old song that I love, one that was sung at my ordination. And it seemed to me at first that the song
contradicts the poet. But here are the
first two verses and refrain:
My
life flows on in endless song;
above
earth’s lamentation,
I
catch the sweet, though far-off hymn
that
hails a new creation.
Refrain:
No
storm can shake my inmost calm
while
to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since
Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how
can I keep from singing?
Through
all the tumult and the strife,
I
hear that music ringing.
It
finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?
My life, I suppose, has been like an impeded
stream over these past 18 months. And
still it flows on, spilling over surgery and chemo, rippling around radiation,
dancing through doctor visits, persevering – a song of thanksgiving, a song of
being reminded yet again of the preciousness of life. And that is truly something to sing about!
