Strengthen our Arms
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 07/13/23
As we sit in our yards and visit parks this summer, may God grant us the strength to love this world we have been given, strengthening our arms to help carry it into the future. The beauty of summer reminds us that, “the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for God has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers” (Psalm 24:1-2).
Let us be good stewards of all God has entrusted to us.
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
What We Carry
As kids we sat in grass,
Fished our hands into the dirt.
We felt that damp brown
Universe writhe, alert & alive,
Earth cupped in the boat of our palms.
Our eyes waxed wide with wonder.
Children understand:
Even grime is a gift,
Even what is mired is miraculous,
What is marred is still marvelous.
….
We have recalled how to touch each other
& how to trust all that is good & all right.
We have learned our true names–
Not what we are called,
But what we are called
To carry forth from here.
What do we carry, if not
What & who we care most for.
….
The truth is,
One globe, wonder-flawed.
Here’s to the preservation
Of a light so terrific.
The truth is, there is joy
In discarding almost everything–
Our rage, our wreckage,
Our hubris, our hate,
Our ghosts, our greed,
Our wrath, our wars,
On the beating shore.
We haven’t any haven
For them here. Rejoice, for
What we have left
Behind will not free us,
But what we have left
Is all we need.
We are enough,
Armed only
With our hands,
Open but unemptied,
Just like a blooming thing.
We walk into tomorrow,
Carrying nothing
But the world.
~ Amanda Gorman, Call us What We Carry, pp. 202-205
