Good morning…
After writing about our need to be kneaded by God, I am drawn back to an old favorite poem. The first line begins: “It takes time to bake a loaf of bread, to grind, to knead, to wait…” Please take your time, reading these sacred words as slowly as you can.
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It Takes Time by NOEL DAVIS FROM “HEART GONE WALKABOUT”
It takes time to bake a loaf of bread,
to grind, to knead, to wait….
Time for friends to break and share their lives.
It takes time to craft in wood,
to strip, to wound, to bleed….
Time for the original to be released from the prison of our fear.
It takes time for us to build
and fortify our lives,
Time for the steal of the Divine to slay our pride.
It takes time to be with pain,
to yield and let the healing have its way,
Time in the darkness to trust the dawn.
It takes time to be alone
to become one’s intimate friend,
Time in the dry for the hidden stream to fill the empty well.
It takes time to wait in silence
for the coming of the spring.
Time for the bud to swell on winter’s dreams.
It takes time to let your life be turned around,
to accept a vision’s death,
Time in the void to see with different eyes.
It takes time to still within
and merge with life,
Time in the wild to let a river slow you down.
It takes time to tend a crop of grain,
to plough, to sow, to wonder….
Time for love to ripen and be harvested.
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Bake.
Craft.
Build.
Be with.
Be alone.
Wait.
Let.
Still.
Tend.
Each one of these small verbs needs our patient, loving care. In the soil of our innermost being, we take time to plough, to sow, to wonder.
Slowly. Surely. Somehow. God’s transforming love gradually ripens within us.
Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who plants seed in the ground. The seed begins to grow. It grows night and day. It doesn’t matter whether the man is sleeping or awake, the seed still grows. He doesn’t know how it happens. Without any help the ground produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. When the grain is ready, the man cuts it. This is the harvest time” (Mark 4:26-29, ERV).
…Sue…
