As a deer longs for running water, so my soul longs for You, O God.
Cry Out for God
One night a man was crying,
Allah! Allah!
His lips grew sweet with the praising,
until a cynic said,
"So! I have heard you
calling out, but have you ever
gotten any response?"
The man had no answer to that.
He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep.
He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls,
in a thick, green foliage.
"Why did you stop praising?"
"Because I've never heard anything back."
"This longing you express is the return message."
The grief you cry out from
draws you toward union.
Your pure sadness
that wants help
is the secret cup.
— Jelaluddin Rumi in The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks
This was sent me by a dear friend in Scotland and I am sure that the longing is the return message from God as I am convinced that God increases our longing so that we may grow in our capacity to receive His Love.
It is sometimes a joyous longing so I would like to emphasize that even when our longing is a painful ache, it is full of joy or can be full of joy as we know our God is so close to us and loves us unconditionally. I read today in John Maine that God is intimately present to us but also infinitely beyond us.
I am leaving for St. Louis today and will try to keep posting daily while away for a week. It will be a time for visiting old friends but I intend to save time for my blog as I hear from more who are reading it daily.
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