Lift Your Oars

Oh my goodness.

I have so much to catch you all up on, it's not even funny!

In case you missed it, I moved.

And I've spent the past few nights getting to know the creaks and rattles and taps that make my 1946 house talk.  It's been interesting.  Last night, I experienced my first thunderstorm in the house.  And, if this makes any sense at all, I fell in love with the house last night.  I've loved it all along- but last night, it felt like mine, with the thunder rolling and the rain pounding on the roof.  I loved every second of it.  My little sanctuary.

I just finished catching up on blogs, and I came upon this little gem over at A Sweet Spoonful.  

This poem absolutely speaks to my heart right now.  And, I love the way Megan breaks it down and analyzes it.  So, here you go, a poem on a rainy day.

West Wind #2

You are young. So you know everything. You leap into the boat and begin rowing. But listen to me. Without fanfare, without embarrassment, without any doubt, I talk directly to your soul. Listen to me. Lift the oars from the water, let your arms rest, and your heart, and heart’s little intelligence, and listen to me. There is life without love. It is not worth a bent penny, or a scuffed shoe. It is not worth the body of a dead dog nine days unburied. When you hear, a mile away and still out of sight, the churn of the water as it begins to swirl and roil, fretting around the sharp rocks–when you hear that unmistakable pounding–when you feel the mist on your mouth and sense ahead the embattlement, the long falls plunging and steaming–then row, row for your life toward it.

~Mary Oliver

I think I love the two separate messages in this poem.  One being, lift your oars and just listen.  Just be.  I struggle with this, so when I read Bible verses or poems like this, it speaks to me.  And then... the call to action.  When you hear that pounding, whatever it may be, row for your life towards it.

Are you lifting your oars today, or rowing like crazy?  I hope to do both.