We've been singing three beautiful texts by Amy Carmichael in Women's Chorale. I'm touched every time I sing them and wanted to share. This is a woman who gave up many dreams, albeit conventional ones, gave up comfort, to serve needy women in India. She suffered physically from disease, yet remained with her girls. She never married (who knows if she had the gift of celibacy?) and yet was content with her place in life. Would that I could aspire to be more like her. Meditate.
Rock of My Heart
Rock of my heart and my Fortress Tow'r,
Dear are Thy thoughts to me.
Like the unfolding of leaf or flow'r,
Opening silently.
And on the edge of these Thy ways,
Standing in awe as heretofore,
Thee do I worship,
Thee do I praise,
And adore.
Rock of my heart and my Fortress Tow'r,
Dear is Thy love to me.
Search I the world for a word of pow'r,
Find it at Calvary.
O deeps of love that rise and flow
Round about me and all things mine,
Love of all loves,
In Thee I know,
Love Divine.
Love's Eternal Wonder
Lord, beloved, I would ponder
Breadth and length and depth and height
Of Thy love's eternal wonder,
All embracing, infinite
Never, never have I brought Thee
Gold and frankincense and myrrh,
In the hands that groping, sought Thee
Precious treasures never were
What was that to Thee?
The measure of Thy love was Calvary.
Stooping low, Love found a treasure
In the least of things that be.
O the Passion of Thy loving,
O the Flame of Thy desire,
Melt my heart with Thy great loving,
Set me all aglow, afire.
Before the Winds That Blow Do Cease
Before the winds that blow do cease,
Teach me to dwell within thy calm;
Before the pain has passed in peace,
Give me, my God, to sing a psalm.
Let me not lose the chance to prove the fulness of enabling love.
O Love of God, do this for me
Maintain a constant victory
Before I leave the desert land for meadows of immortal flow'rs,
Lead me where streams at Thy command flow by the borders of the hours,
That when the thirsty come,
I may show them the fountains in the way.
O Love of God, do this for me
Maintain a constant victory.
Amen.
I really like these.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came across your blog (more precisely, Kristen sent me the link) a few days ago, I was wanting to write a full response to everything your previous posts have made me think about. That never really happened. (Perhaps because the feelings I had didn't go deep enough.)
But anyway, a few things:
I'm excited that you're reading Phantastes. I like the book so much; my mind was always wandering off relating the images to my own stories and memories. :)
I sympathized with this: "Capt. Maver thinks I should aim higher." It's hard, wanting advice on where to go but not knowing how to take it and if you can really do things just because people think you should. At least that's how it is with me.
Thanks, Serfy, for letting me hear your thoughts. I have a, cautiousness, about listening, not wanting to be eavesdropping or presumptuous. But also an acceptance. [So I'll say, "thank you," and imagine you saying "You're welcome."] :)
Hullo! I'll be honest, I was meaning to keep this on the down low and not have anyone read it except maybe my family. I didn't want to write for an audience because I was tired of doing that, and I never quite said what I meant. But please don't leave now (please don't go, please don't leave me alone...a mirror's so much harder to hold~ jon foreman xD). I'm glad you've "found" it, really. I'm not sure, but perhaps blogging is, after all, a good way to keep in touch with each other's thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAh, Phantastes...I finished it last week or two weeks ago but I definitely need to reread it. I already feel that need. I think it's one of those books that will take me several reads to comprehend and yet still reveal new ideas each time I read it.