April 15, 2015
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Valley of Vision
Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;
let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett
Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime;
therefore, we must be saved by hope.Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we must be saved by faith.Nothing we do, however virtuous, could be accomplished alone;
therefore, we must be saved by love.No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our own standpoint;
therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.the irony of american history - reinhold niebuhr - 1952
Comments (10)
Beautiful thoughts. Thank you.
such comfort in that poem ~
These words brought tears to my eyes.
Thank you for sharing them!
HUGS!!!
Nice quote. I especially like the following:
"Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision"
Me too.
It's really wonderful when you hear it recited by David Brooks. That's where I heard it. He regularly quotes it in his lectures.
Everything that Jesus taught is the oppsite of the world's values. This is a very deep post and it made me think.
Always good to think deep thoughts once in awhile.
It exercises the brain and keeps it in shape. 
In the end it will be like the ending post of your post. We do what we can and leave the rest to God and History. When I think of all the people gone before, with life happening to all, it makes me a little weary.
Thanks for the kind thoughts. 
This is convincing, Lynn
Love
Michel
It was that very last line, of that second one, that caught me.