pondering presence and poetry

This is me, reading The Practice of the Presence of God in a hammock in the woods. On a Tuesday. Could anything be better? Not much. :) If you haven't, read it. If you have, read it again. Slowly. Read words written five or six hundred years ago, words like,

That the whole substance of religion was faith, hope, and charity; by the practice of which we become united to the will of God.

and

That all things are possible to him who believes, that they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues.

and

I cannot bear that this should be called delusion; because the soul which thus enjoys God desires herein nothing but Him. If this be delusion in me, it belongs to God to remedy it.

and

I can not imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of God.

And THIS is from that night, Mumford and Sons at the civic center in Asheville. We went with friends and stood down on the floor near the front and jumped and sang with our hands up in the air. It was an unforgettable night. The passion of this band is like nothing I've experienced before. They pour their very souls into the instruments, I wonder that they don't collapse after every song. And the words... our friends put it this way: we knew it was a big deal to us, because we all hear the Voice of something bigger than ourselves in the poetry of mumford and sons. but we didn’t know there would be so many other kindred spirits.

Samples of that poetry, phrases like:

there is a design, an alignment, a cry of my heart to see the beauty of Love as it was meant to be

and

love it will not betray you dismay or enslave you, it will set you free, be more like the man you were made to be

and

it seems that all my bridges have been burned

you say that's exactly how this grace thing works

it's not the long walk home that will save this heart

but the welcome I receive at the restart

and

plant your hope with good seeds

don't cover yourself with thistles and weeds

and

lead me to the Truth and I will follow You with my whole life

and

make your siren's call and

sing all you want

I will not hear what you have to say!

cause I need freedom now and

I need to know how

live my life as it's meant to be ....

I could go on forever. I'm convinced that God used friends to introduce me to this music at a time when I needed it most.

Brother Lawrence is right: God is present. Mumford is right: Love will set you free. I'm starting, not only to get that, but to trust that. To stand on it. To be confident in it. Or, as Mumford puts is,

hide your fires

these here are my desires

and I won't give them up to you this time around

and so I'll be found

with my stake stuck here in this ground

marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul

I WILL HOLD ON HOPE