Anxious Times (or is it)

I am, O Anxious One. Don't you hear my voice
surging forth with all my earthly feelings?
They yearn so high, that they have sprouted wings
and whitely fly in circles round your face.
My soul, dressed in silence, rises up
and stands alone before you: can't you see?
don't you know that my prayer is growing ripe
upon your vision as upon a tree?

If you are the dreamer, I am what you dream.
But when you want to wake, I am your wish,
and I grow strong with all magnificence
and turn myself into a star's vast silence
above the strange and distant city, Time.
Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke

A friend shared this poem with me because they were concerned about anxious times. Anxious times about what will happen. This summer I had some anxious time wondering what I would find when we moved to New Jersey. These can be anxious times with our denomination that struggles with questions. These can be anxious times as people search. Anxious times and yet we are claimed by God.

In the midst of the anxious times, God is. God is reaching out for us to claim us in the midst of the anxious times. God rushes to claim us with the calming sunsets that we can see with our eyes and hear with our ears. God reaches to claim us with the calming presence of the Holy Spirit. God claims us in the gentle fall breezes.

I have to admit that there were some anxious moments as we prepared to move. Questions arise ‘is this the best place for my children?’ Questions percolate of ‘are you sure this is God’s leading and not your own desire?’ And then we arrived…..and it was evident that this was God’s leading. I met and began working with my ministerial colleagues. I found that our ministries here would flourish. I met the administrative staff and discovered how the ministry would be blessed by their work. As the year has begun there is a spirit of excitement and energy. There is a passion for the Lord and the ministry of the church. We have experience the movement of the Holy Spirit.

We have been warmly welcomed into the church family. Our family is grateful for the amazing outpouring of love we have received. Thank you for the wonderful gifts we received from housewarming gifts to installation gifts. We are feeling blessed to be able to minister with you.

When we allow ourselves to allow God to claim us and calm our anxious moments, then we can see the power and Spirit of God at work.