And I haven’t yet acknowledged the new year begun. I don’t have to tell you that my heart and mind, like everyone else’s, have been preoccupied, distracted, alarmed, and annoyed by political shenanigans. Where is the moral center? Where is the spirit of cooperation and leadership? Where is the common sense?
This very day, the government of the United States is shut down. I’m assured that the mail will be delivered–always a hopeful moment of anticipation in my day. My social security allotment will drop into my bank account on schedule. I suppose that soldiers are on duty somewhere to protect me from foreign invasion of a military kind. Yet I am deeply concerned about those whose mortgages, medical bills, and meals depend on the paycheck they may not get. My vote in November can’t help with that today.
Besides all that, Bob the Cat is suffering a reaction to a vaccine she was given yesterday at the vet. For now, keeping an eye on her is all we can do. She is the focus of all helpless anxiety for me today.
Did I mention that I have received the printed book proof of my new poetry collection? In just a few weeks, I expect to see WINDSHIFT published and available on amazon. I’ll let you know when that happens. As the wit Don Marquis once quipped: “Publishing a book of poems is like dropping a feather into the Grand Canyon and listening for the echo.” Nevertheless, I’m excited about it, and hope you will be tempted to check it out.
Meanwhile, I continue my daily practice of turning to the Psalms. I’ve been using The Scottish Book of Common Prayer, discovered in my husband’s random library. The old-fashioned language often brings puzzling new words to my attention; but it also serves to focus my attention on the eternal truth of the human experiences and emotions unfolded there day by day. Stay tuned: a good God prevails.
Here are some bits from Psalm 112, which is where I have arrived today.
Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he hath great delight in his commandments….
4 Unto the godly there ariseth up light in the darkness: he is merciful, loving, and righteous.
5 A good man is merciful and lendeth: and will guide his words with discretion.
6 For he shall never be moved: and the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.
7 He will not be afraid of any evil tidings: for his heart standeth fast, and believeth in the Lord.
“Publishing a book of poems is like dropping a feather into the Grand Canyon and listening for the echo.”
I LOVE THIS QUOTE!
Hope everyone knows that Claire McCaskill introduced a bill about keeping the military paid even if the government closed and it was rejected. Love you, Claire.