Sunday, April 16, 2006

BLESS THE LORD

Kathleen Norris's marvelous essays in Dakota are periodically separated by weather reports. The one for a February describes a day so cold that you don't dare breath without layers of good wool between your lungs and the air. Weather so cold that spit crackles when it hits the sidewalk. Much to the delight of the kids who keep doing it. She remembered this, but couldn't really remember where it was from.

Cold and chill, bless the Lord.
Dew and rain, bless the Lord.
Frost and chill, bless the Lord.
Ice and snow, bless the Lord.
Nights and days bless the Lord.
Light and darkness, bless the Lord.
 
I'm not quite sure which way this is going.  It works either way. All these elements may be blessing the Creator for making them possible. Or the writer may figure that no matter what the weather is, no matter whether it's day or night, no matter how dark or light it is, rejoice and be glad that you're there to enjoy it.
 
Blessed be!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dig that!  I will always bitch and complain about the weather -- but I secretly admire its power.  The power to humble all of us mortal fools.  

Love,
Russ

Anonymous said...

Here in Texas, we could use some cold, some rain, and definitely some blessing the Lord!  How well I remember some mornings in my childhood, walking outside and being able to see my breath as a white, fragile vapor -- maybe it's rampant nostalgia, but everything seemed so much simpler then, when the hardest decision to be made was to see whether or not one's tongue would stick to the lamp post while waiting for the school bus.

Thanks for reminding me of those days.