pleasant places...

"You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my inheritance is beautiful to me." -Psalms 16:5-6

Coming off of a weekend of hanging out in the already lushing beauty of Portland; with its funky cool houses, hip architecture, gardens full of sculptures', art and various evergreen flora...it makes for a hard walk in East Central.

The beauty around here has to be rediscovered. It takes baptized eyes to truly see glory in broken pots. One has to have his heart infused with redemptive light to see flesh growing over rusted out cars, garbage strewn streets, the old couches in yards and porches...the retched, old city bones.
In my morning devotions I read this celtic prayer for my own:

"The vitality of God be mine this day,
the vitality of the God of life.
The passion of Christ be mine this day,
the passion of the Christ of love.
The wakefulness of the Spirit be mine this day,
the wakefulness of the Spirit of justice.
The vitality and passion and wakefulness of God be mine,
that I may be fully alive this day.
The vitality and passion and wakefulness of God, that I may be fully alive."
I found myself seeing the side streets more in this light and vision, as I carried the above verse and prayer in my mind and heart. I found myself inviting a sense of gratitude for the treasure found in discarded vessels all around me. Prayers for places of gathered worship form as I walked past empty churches. Longing, yearning, dreaming, hope sprouting, mustard seed sized faith replacing prolonged dreariness. Moments of apprehension and gentle revelation find their way into uttered supplications and spiritual thoughts woven with spiritual words.

This inheritance becoming truly beautiful to me.

Sunlight Photograph from http://blanklinestudios.com/