Posts Categorized: Pastor’s Ponderings

  On a hot day in May I sat beneath the cypress tree, Gazing upward through the green- And the canopy, a million leaves. All at work so silently Turning sunlight into matter, Brought to mind a symphony Too glorious for Mozart, Too compelling for Beethoven, Too profound for Bach.       George R…. Read more

Suppose all we saw Were puppy pictures?   Suppose all we heard Was sweet?   Suppose all we noticed Was uplifting?   Suppose all we read Was quick, easy, And non-controversial?   Would the world be any better, Or would we know?       George R. Pasley May 14, 2019 Martin, TN

A day in the woods, Warm but not too hot, Without breeze But blessed by the song of birds And the roar of the chainsaw (and occasional curse) And barking dogs, The slither of snakes The bite of bugs, Abundant with poison ivy And never-ending work.   Yet, we count it blessing, A day in… Read more

You have not prayed If you have not prayed for rain Knowing it meant death If the rain refused to come.   I have not prayed for peace If I have not prayed While the blood still seeped From the child in my arms.   We have not prayed “Thy Kingdom come” If we have… Read more

In the beginning God made time For doing things- For playing with the mud, For putting stars in the sky, For setting the earth to its spin, For juggling the sun and the moon- And when God did so, God made time For work For play For thought For rest For us to be together… Read more

SHED THIS TEAR Jeremy Richman was found dead Monday morning from an apparent suicide, according to police. He was the father of 6-year-old Avielle who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. -CNN   I wish I could Write one letter, Speak one word, Utter one prayer, Believe beyond despair, Something Anything That… Read more

How sweet it is When the weather does as it should, When the flowers bloom, When the birds sing, When the soil warms, When the grass greens, When time permits And we venture forth And slip the earth Between our palms… Praise God, for the basic things From which all blessings flow.      … Read more

If you made a quilt Of the scraps of your years Would you gather in The nights of worry And the gallons of tears? Would you dig and find The days of turmoil And the hours of trouble? Would you congregate The months of hope, The weeks of prayers, And all the years In which… Read more

When we forgive our brother or sister, There is Jubilee. When we invite the hungry to sit down for a feast, There is Jubilee. When we open up the gates of the city, There is Jubilee.   When we release the prisoners, There is Jubilee. When we water the garden and nurture the crops and… Read more

The bend in the river Looks just like the hundred other bends We’ve paddled around, So I expect nothing Except more disappointment.   But for some reason I keep paddling, Straining against the heat of this long day And against the weight of hope.   The fist stare, The birds fly to a higher branch,… Read more