A Moment in Time

The sun was coming up and a new day was dawning. Soon it would be time to make a move. The time for thinking was over, the time for acting was now. I had come for just this moment and I knew this was the place where it was to happen. The leafless tree silhouetted against the lightening sky marked the spot and the rising sun marked the time. I knew it was now or never, there would never be another chance. I had to move forward and I had to start the process.

I was frozen to the spot

I gathered my thoughts and reviewed the series of steps that would open the door to a new beginning for me. As the sun's light and intensity grew with the advancing dawn I felt its energy and power and knew this was the moment to make my move. If I failed to opt for renewal I would fall back into darkness and despair and it would all come to an end for me. If I failed to go forward into renewal, I would not be able to go back into the shadows of the half-life that had been mine till now. The failure would destroy me and I would be left with nothing, I would become nothing.

I stood there, and looked around me, surveying what I was leaving behind, which gave me even greater resolve to push ahead. I turned back to what lay before me and seemed to beckon me. I was sure that the place was pinpointed by the hibernating tree, that the time was marked by the sun's position on the horizon, and I felt a restless energy coursing through my body. This was it. There was no time to lose, the moment had come, the window of opportunity was a very narrow one and delay would be fatal. I took a deep breath, stiffened myself for what was to come, focused on the tree in the near distance, and stepped forward... and that’s when it all started to happen for me.

That was a long time ago now, and now as you read this, I may already be beyond this world.

Before me the Word...

Open wide the Bible rests upon its perch,

its pages full of ancient tales and teachings,

its heavy legacy grown heavier with time,

its mass more ponderous with the dust of age.

Before me, the Word of God, set down by man,

beside it a burning candle to illumine the Word,

around me the dense darkness of the void.

The Word, the Flame, the Light of the World.

I can go into that Light, embrace that Word,

or I can turn away and melt back into the dark.

There is no easy way, no choice free of doubt;

either way the path is long and winding,

and fraught with trials and tribulations.

The darkness, the candle flame, the stillness,

and in their midst the Word writ upon the page.

And a soft sweet holy chant born in my mind,

gently welling within me, gentle but strong,

fills me as I stand in the darkness before the Word

that illumines the Light that illumines the Word

that feeds the soul with the breath of the Spirit…