Some of our ancestors suffered mocking and flogging,
and even chains and imprisonment….
Yet all these, heroes of the faith, did not receive what was promised….
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
…let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
…looking to Jesus, who endured such hostility against himself from sinners,
so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.
—from Hebrews 11.36 – 12.3
Like artisans building a cathedral,
we are engaged in work that outlives us.
The building of justice will take generations;
knowing this, we do not grow weary or lose heart.
Sustained by those who have come before,
who endured so that we may be brought this far,
we carry on, against all odds, against all opposition.
We are not intimidated by the thought
that we will not achieve our goal in our lifetime.
Of course not. This is not for us,
but for our children’s children’s children.
Our little triumphs and failures are ennobled,
not by our successes, but by the immense grace
of the work to which we devote ourselves.
Discouragement, despair and even death do not trouble us,
for our lives are insignificant in the shadow of this work,
which bestows its blessings to the ends of the earth,
and to generations far beyond us.
Friends, take courage. God is in this;
this is where, though you are small, you become immortal.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
August 15, 2019