Sunday, May 15, 2011

if you have gone a little way ahead...call back

Looking Glass Falls, Brevard, NC
During a recent trip to Brevard, North Carolina, we followed a Waterfall Hunting Guide in search of one beautiful waterfall after another. Sometimes the climb to see one waterfall was a little more strenuous than another...it took a little more energy and determination to make it to the summit to see the beauty. During our trek, the words of a poem I had read many years ago in the daily devotional, Streams In The Desert, kept coming to my mind. Once we got home, I located the poem in the following December 19 devotional, and thought it might be an encouragement for fellow travelers...

"It shall turn to you for a testimony."--Luke 21:13

Life is a steep climb, and it does the heart good to have somebody "call back" and cheerily beckon us on up the high hill. We are all climbers together, and we must help one another.

This mountain climbing is serious business, but glorious.

It takes strength and steady step to find the summits.

The outlook widens with the altitude.

If anyone among us has found anything worthwhile, we ought to "call back"...

If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back­;
'Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if, perchance, Faith's light is dim, because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.

Call back, and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
Call back, and say He kept you when the forest's roots were torn;
That when the heavens thundered and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the very air was still.

O friend, call back and tell me, for I cannot see your face;
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet bound in the race;
But there are mists between us, and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

But if you'll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you'll say He saw you through the night's sin-darkened sky,­
If you have gone a little way ahead, O friend, call back,­
'Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.

- anonymous, December 19 Streams In The Desert devotional

Pisgah National Forest Waterfalls
Triple Falls, Dupont State Forest
Upper Whitewater Falls
(c) 2011 beth willis miller
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What are your thoughts about this post?
      In what ways have you been inspired by a poem or a scenic view in nature?
            How has a scenic view in nature reminded you of a familiar poem or song?

2 comments:

  1. Beth- thanks for alerting me to this post- I loved it, as you knew I would.
    I love anything to do with water as I hear God through water quite clearly,often- in the shower, washing dishes, walking by the sea, and through babbling brooks and raging rivers as they tumble over into magnificent waterfalls- such a show of God's mighty power !! Thanks so much- and please make any other suggestions as the Holy Spirit prompts you. Love you writing- such a gift :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mary, you are such a wonderful encourager! Will do!

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