Posts Categorized: Pastor’s Ponderings

He said the truth was He was nervous, And pretty sure he was not Up to the task. But the other truth was He trusted God When he was nervous, And even when He was afraid- So, he took steps In a certain direction, Repeating to himself “Trust in the LORD Trust in the LORD…”… Read more

  Sometimes in the evenings, When the sun steps down from her high place, I crawl through the garden on hands and knees, Pulling a few weeds So that my tomatoes and my squash Have it all to themselves, And in the midst of my labor I find meaning and joy.   And sometimes in… Read more

My latest home-improvement project Is a coop, which must be built Just-so Nothing that is meant to be in Can get out, And more important, So that nothing which is meant to be out Can get in.   The more important is the harder, Any one of countless unknowns Can foil my plan.   And… Read more

This morning, in a flash, I remembered A sunny May day in Jefferson Maryland- A moment, really, At a country store- Concrete steps, glass door, One single linoleum counter- A Tastykake Some chocolate milk And then I returned to today, Wondering what was so vivid about that long-ago day?   Not the Tastykake Not even… Read more

“A noose was tied around the negro’s neck, but when Mrs. White’s husband refused to be the executioner, the mob returned the prisoner to jail and released the sheriff. Later the mob reassembled and secured the negro and hanged him.” -Newspaper account of the lynching of Mallie Wilson, Dresden Tennessee, September 4, 2015    … Read more

Heroes get tired, too. I have seen them cry. They fail, sometimes. They can be afraid, Uncertain and have regrets. They grow weary of the journey, They get blisters on their soul.   It must take something special to be a hero, Sometimes that looks like love.   George R. Pasley May 9, 2018 Jasper,… Read more

I am persuaded That suffering is both particle and wave, That it both persists and wanes, That we endure it by stubbornness And prevail against it by hope And agility And by surprise.   Likewise I am persuaded That grace is simultaneously The most necessary and The least understood Of the spiritual elements. It too… Read more

Lord have mercy, There are so many needs To pray about, I don’t know where to start. War in Syria Still And children dying helplessly And drugs in America Still And now the elderly are addicted And we are running out Of forests to cut down And mountaintops to level And places to put our… Read more

Almighty God- Speak now, we implore thee. Speak justice into our world, That it may roll down like mighty rivers, And rise up like sprouts of corn. Grant that we might labor In its long straight rows. Grant that we might speak its language. Grant that we might practice its habits. Grant that we might… Read more

Lord, If I had my druthers I’d rather Easter Be over and gone- No extra sermons For me to write For Holy Week, No pressure To make Easter grand For those who come But twice a year, No meals to schedule With friend and kin, Just a sunny day And a breeze that’s warm.  … Read more