Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Things Held Me Far From You....

'Too late have I loved You,
O beauty so ancient
and so new!  Too late
have I loved You.
And behold,
You were within me
and I was away
outside, and there
I searched for you, deformed,
plunging,
absorbed in
those beautiful things
You had made.
You were with me,
but I was not with You.  Things held me
far from You,
things which would
not have existed at all
except for You.
You called,
You shouted,
and burst in
on my deafness.
You shone
and gleamed brightly
at me and
dispersed my blindness.  You breathed
forth fragrances,
and I drew in my breath, and still I pant for You.  I tasted much, and I hunger and thirst for more.  You touched me, and I burned for Your peace.'

St. Augustine

Painting:  Albert Anker 
 

12 comments:

  1. This is beautiful. I especially love the title line. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Makes me think of all those special people in my life that I want to and need to remember to appreciate.

    :) Hope

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  3. Nancy, Oh thank you for sharing these beautiful lines of Augustine's prayer. I am drawn to the lines you used in your title, but even more so to these words: You were within me and I was away outside.

    It took me a long while to realize that He was as close as my breath and so my prayers didn't have far to go for His ear to catch them. I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything to draw near.

    Lovely.............
    Brenda


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    1. Brenda, how beautifully put; thank you.. I, too, love 'You were within me and I was away outside.' That was me. That IS me, more often than I wish were the case. Sigh......

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  4. I LOVE THIS, and I don't know why I'd never heard it before. I think many of us could reflect on earlier years and have those same thoughts. Amazing Grace.

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    1. Oh yes, reflecting on earlier years I certainly can identify. Oh yes. Amazing grace, indeed.

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  5. Beautiful. How true this resonates for most of us. Thank Jesus for His precious sacrifice so that I may be forgiven.

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  6. "You breathed forth fragrances, and I drew in my breath, and still I pant for You. I tasted much, and I hunger and thirst for more."

    Yes! Yes! Yes!

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