July 01, 2009
		
		
	 
		...A Story About Him...
          
		
Glorious Dawn over Panama City Beach FL
Anoint my heart with the oil of Your mercy, 
my most merciful Lord.
May neither anger against the strong 
nor scorning of the weak ever erupt in my heart! 
For everything is weaker than the morning dew.
May hatred never make a nest in my heart 
against those who plot evil against me, 
so that I may be mindful of their end 
and be at peace.
Morning Cloudscape Panama City Beach FL
Mercifulness opens the way 
to the heart of all creatures, 
and brings joy. 
Mercilessness brings fog to the fore, 
and creates a cramped isolation.
Have mercy on Your merciful servant, 
most Tender Hand, 
and reveal to me the mystery 
of Your mercy.
The Ultimate Man 
is the child of the Father’s mercy 
and the Spirit’s light.
 A dancing hermit crab, at low tide. Panama City Beach FL
All creation is merely a story about Him. 
The mighty suns in the heavens 
and the smallest drops of water in the lake 
can in themselves be one part of the story about Him.
All the builders of heaven and earth, 
from the exceedingly mighty Seraphim 
to rulers and the tiniest particle of dust,
tell the very same story about Him, 
their fore-essence and fore-source.
What are all the things on the earth 
and the moon except the sun in stories? 
Truly, in this way 
all visible and invisible creation 
is the Ultimate Man in stories.
Wind Swept Salt Grass, Cape San Blas, Fl
Essence is simple, 
but there is no end or number 
to the stories about essence.
My neighbors, how can I tell you about essence, 
when you do not even understand stories.
Ah if you only knew how great the sweetness,
the expanse, and the strength are, 
when one reaches the bottom of all the stories—there, 
where the stories begin and where they end. 
There, where the tongue is silent 
and where everything is told at once!
How boring all the lengthy 
and tedious stories of creatures become then! 
Truly, they become just as boring 
as it is for one who is accustomed 
to seeing lightning to hear stories about lightning.
Evening Seas Sunset over the Gulf Panama City Beach FL
Receive me into Yourself, 
O Only-Begotten Son, 
so that I may be one with You 
as I was before creation and the fall.
Let my long and weary story about You end 
with a moment’s vision of You. 
Let my self-deception die, 
that would have me think that I am something without You, 
that I am something else outside of You.
My ears are stuffed with stories. 
My eyes no longer seek to see 
any display of clothing but You, 
my essence, overladen with stories and clothing.from Prayers by the Lake
by St Nikolai Velimirovic
with a hat tip to 
The Handmaid at Christ is in our MidstLabels: Florida, Prayers