~ Maureen Doallas
from the poem "Hope Is"
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I am guilty of counting time my enemy.
Time is too brief to appreciate the good.
Time is too crowded to accomplish the better.
Time is too protracted to touch the best.
Hope has been my study. Bible words for hope are connected to waiting with expectancy or with trust or with confidence, but always with that agonizing waiting which brings me to despise the time which is both too short and too long.
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Whenever my first encounter with Maureen Doallas, I took notice of her nearly a year ago when I read a piece she wrote titled "Uncommon Community," about those dogged by cancer. This is an excerpt:We need time. We want for time....
We struggle to hold on to faith when faith doesn't answer our questions. We have too many questions and not enough answers.
Mostly, we traffic in hope.
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Everywhere I turned this week, Hope and Patience confronted me.
Maureen challenges me to make time my friend, to live with a hope placed not in the future, but in the moment—to traffic in hope rather than with time.
A video I encountered three days ago complements her words with an additional challenge for living in the moment: use whatever comes to my hand to make something wonderful, and say of the waiting, "This too shall pass."
For a moment, His anger,
For a lifetime, His favor;
For the night weeping may tarry,
But the morning is for rejoicing.
~ Psalms 30:5
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THIS TOO SHALL PASS
You know you can't keep lettin' it get you down
And you can't keep draggin' that dead weight around.
If there ain't all that much to lug around, cultivate
Better run like hell when you hit the ground.
When the morning comes.
When the morning comes.
You can't stop these kids from dancin'.
Why would you want to?
Especially when you're already gettin' yours.
'Cause if your mind don't move and your knees don't bend,
well don't go blamin' the kids again.
When the morning comes. (Repeat ...)
Let it go, this too shall pass.
Let it go, this too shall pass.
Let it go, this too shall pass.
(You know you can't keep lettin' it get you down.
No, you can't keep lettin' it get you down.)
When the morning comes.
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Postscripts:
Notre Dame fans may appreciate their marching band's unconventional performance with OK GO on an alternate video.
My prayer is that our nation will call to mind each September 11th that our only hope is dependence upon our Creator.
I appreciate hearing from you. Questions are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments or e-mail me—my address is
buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com.
Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
"This Too Shall Pass" by OK Go © 2009 Capitol Records
Every time I see an Ichthys, (Christian fish symbol) I think of an acronym the Lord whispered to my heart; FISH= Faith Is Strong Hope. I never forget that.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I read that poem, but somehow I missed that line about trafficking in hope. Isn't Maureen wonderful-eloquent?
ReplyDeleteWhat gets me about morning is that it always comes. Always. And Christ Himself is the Bright and Morning Star. We wait for Him to rise, don't we, our Joy that comes with the eternal morning...
Anne, I am deeply honored by your post. Thank you.
ReplyDelete" . . .to traffic in hope rather than with time."
ReplyDeleteLove this, Anne.
Love you.
Love Maureen.
T ~
ReplyDeleteStay strong, love. For Him, for me, for everyone in His body. : )
Kelly ~
ReplyDeleteWith sunrises now coming later than 5am, I really need to start catching them. They're as beautiful as the way you capture them—my favorite time of day.
Maureen ~
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to honor you, and to know you. Your inspiration is God's blessing to so many.
Snady ~
ReplyDeleteI love it too. I'm grateful for an opportunity to quote Mo's "wonderful-eloquent" words (as Kelly calls them). Now to go apply them to my life ...
Anne, Thank you for introducing Maureen to us (I rather like your name, Maureen...it's the name we chose for our only daughter!) :) What an inspiring message she has to share. I needed to hear it badly this week!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you both!
You two are a wonderful combination ...
ReplyDeleteGwen ~
ReplyDeleteBe sure and show your Maureen that video, and tell her it comes from Mrs. Bundy with a big hug til the next time I give her one in person. Our kids have watched this thing to death, and I still enjoy it myself.
(And be sure to catch a smile yourself, my dear!)
Susan ~
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you! Won't we all make quite the group when we see one another together?
I really loved this post sis, thank you.
ReplyDeleteDenise ~
ReplyDeleteI hope Maureeen and I gave you cause to smile.
Wow. Word to your post.
ReplyDeleteMy daddy, who has been dead for 15 years, used to comfort me in times of anguish and worry over, in retrospect, unimportant things, but I used to be soothed when he said, "This too shall pass."
After you posted those lines from Psalms, I looked it up in my Bible -- I had it marked and a Post It note next to it with "how to grieve a loss."
Love to you both.
Harriett ~
ReplyDeleteI love how God uses His living Word in our lives, and then brings us back to it in ways which remind us of its ability to touch us. I'm blessed that God used this post to remind you of your precious daddy's words.
I highlighted this amazing post Oct 6 over at High Calling Blogs.
ReplyDeletehttp://goo.gl/fb/fblzW
David ~
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible honor! My thanks to you and to everyone at HCB.
I came over through the HighCalling feature :)
ReplyDeleteThe words of Maureen are always a deep place to plant words of our own. I'm happy to see hers and yours together here.
David ~
ReplyDeleteNow that the bugs and glitches are smoothed out, I'm including a new link to your High Calling Blogs post:
Around the Network
Thanks once again for the inclusion in a great lineup of posts from HCB.
Laura ~
ReplyDeleteMaureen is such a wonderfully full-dimensioned writer. I'd love to meet her in person. It's as delightful to bring my words to meet hers as to find a way to connect her with OK Go.
Your post beautifully communicates hope.
ReplyDeleteToday I "traffic in hope."
Thank you for these words.
Donna ~
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased to think you've been inspired here. I'm glad to meet you. :D