Saturday, September 7, 2013

When White is Black

White space;  the areas of a page without print or pictures; blank space.
                      white space is as effective in a layout as type.
                      
Black hole;    something that consumes a resource continually; an empty space.

I had a white space once, a cultivated time of morning meditation, prayer, reading of scripture and fellowship with the Lord.
But that white space of quiet moments on my knees before a second story window has recently been replaced by a black hole.
The kitchen table has become my new altar, and unfortunately, a few incidentals have followed me there;

My cell phone.

My computer.

My two dogs and their incessant licking of the linoleum.

The grating hum of the frig.

My coffee.


My intentions were holy, but the environment proved hectic and I found myself easily distracted there.

Cell to the left, computer to the right. Coffee in hand and bible stuck in the middle.
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you. 1

Before I know it I am on Facebook again, texting friends or checking my E-mail.

http://youtu.be/WROJl6QtNMk

Somethings gotta give, and I am fairly certain it's going to be the coffee, clowns and jokers!
I want the Lord alone to be my soul-focus. I refuse to let His word be wedged between worldly distractions that vie for my attention and oppose his authority.

I am returning to my White space Window where a quieted heart and emptied mind can find a fresh focus,vision, and passion.

I am reclaiming my white!
The window where only God resides. The secret place. The Remaining Place 2.


'Mid all the traffic of the ways,
Turmoils without, within,
Make in my heart a quiet place,
And come and dwell therein.

A little shrine of quietness,
All sacred to Thyself,
Where Thou shalt all my soul possess,
And I may find myself.

A little shelter from life's stress,
Where I may lay me prone,
And bare my soul in loneliness,
And Know as I am known.

A little place of mystic grace,
Of self and sin swept bare, 
Where I may look upon Thy face
And talk with Thee in prayer. 3

Amen.



1 Stuck in the middle, Stealers Wheel.

2 The Remaining Place, John 15:4   Remain in me, as I also remain in you.

3  b. William Author Dunkerley, Mid all the traffic of the ways