Storm-tossed

 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold. . ."    

(Isaiah 54:11a ESV)

"And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep." 

 (Matthew 8:24 ESV)

faint heart

a snowflake on the tongue

its frozen splendour gone

in an instant 

a shattered mirror

the shards that pierce

I am the snow queen

yet winter streams still run

liquid fire beneath the ice 

snow is falling like stars

like the ashes of hope

burnt up in reentry

let it blanket my throbbing autumn heart

soft its edges with pale feathers

cool its ardours once again

make me a winter waste land

freeze my fears into nothingness

Sometimes it is easier to be Naomi than Ruth. Sometimes hope is hard. Sometimes emotional hypothermia seems easier than feeling every pin prick. Like Job I say "I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.” (Job 3:26 ESV) And yet, "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."(Romans 8:26 ESV)

[81] My soul longs for your salvation; 
I hope in your word.
[82] My eyes long for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me? 

(Psalm 119:81-82 ESV)

[25] And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing” [26] And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

(Matthew 8:25-26 ESV)

[5] For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence 

for my hope is from him.

[6] He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

[7] On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

[8] Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us. Selah

(Psalm 62:5-8 ESV)

The Singing Flute of Spring

One day in late March when I was about sixteen or seventeen I bought a CD of French Impressionist flute and piano music, and ever since this style always means Spring to me. It is forever associated with slowly warming sun beams, melting snow drifts, and the cheerful whistle of returning robins. It brings the promise of crocuses and tulips pushing through still-cold earth on the sunny south side of my neighbour's house and the relief of ever-lengthening daylight. There is something about this music which embodies Spring's strange dichotomy of warm and cold, dark and light.

Bright notes of silver and gold float through the air, and I'm instantly transported. I'm drinking sweet, milky darjeeling in the sunny living room of my parents' old house. I'm walking home from town on a warm, melty spring day wearing just a sweater, feeling ever-so-free without my heavy winter coat. I'm snuggled up in an armchair with a favourite book. It means simple pleasures: the musty smell of dirt after winter when the snow melts, a misting of green buds on the trees, the trickle of melt water in the drain pipes and down the road drains, lying on the floor in a square of warm light, variegated tulips, and the first dandelion of spring.

Music is Water for the Soul

Music is water for the soul. The many drops of sound all running together to create a harmonious stream pour over the frazzled or gasping psyche and smooth away all the edges that threaten to tear an emotional hole in the fabric of our being.

Sometimes it is a glacial mountain stream, sometimes a reflecting pond, sometimes the drifting arctic snow, sometimes the wild untamed surf of an ocean. Sometimes it is a bath or a steaming hot shower. Occasionally it is a mud puddle to splash into with both feet.

Always it comes with its own liquid grace.

http://piccsy.com/2011/09/water-music/

There is music for every mood, for every emotion, for every soul. Music for pain, for joy, for love, for loneliness, for grief, for exultation, for praise, for heartache, for pensive regret, for soul-wearying exhaustion, for exhilaration, for the dull, plodding everyday and for the once-in-a-lifetime, wish-upon-a-star occasions.

It shapes itself to you. What you need, it will be.

Find the right music and you can change your mood, your mental equilibrium, perhaps even your life.