“In the book of Isaiah the word of God is envisioned as the rain God sends to earth, and the prophet declares that it will return not empty, but bearing good fruit. If we are made in God’s image, perhaps we are also words of God in this sense, and our life’s pilgrimage is to determine what our particular word is and how we are to bring it to fruition. Within this frame of reference, we can envision the whole of our life as a journey home.” ~Kathleen Norris Acedia and Me
I read this quote and underlined it, then I dog-eared the page, and finally I copied it down here for us to remember. I can’t shake the image Norris paints of our life as a pilgrimage home–a pilgrimage in which we pick up and lay down, work and rest, seek and find, keep company and travel alone.
It’s helpful to carry this metaphor with us, reminding us that we are headed somewhere lovely and perfect and whole. Our end destination is Home, and it requires a pilgrimage–one fraught with tension and beauty–to arrive there.
I’m also drawn to the idea that we are a word uttered from the mouth of God, and our journey towards him is also an invitation to discover the particular word we embody. I’ve held this phrase of Norris’ for a while now, rubbing it smooth like a stone in my pocket.
I don’t know exactly what word I’m to bring to fruition in my life, but I can hear whispers of it. Those whispers are just out of earshot, an echo in the universe. I have faith I’ll hear them sung over me. Someday.
In the same passage of Isaiah, the prophet writes that every word that comes from God’s mouth will not return empty, but will accomplish its purpose. Even when we’re unsure, when we’ve begun our pilgrimage home with only a whisper to guide us, we can hold on to hope.
Everything God has purposed, every word from his lips, will accomplish his intentions. I have great hope in this truth, for myself, for my children, and for you. Circumstances along the journey may appear to be diversions, roadblocks, or impossible obstructions. But, I trust that none of these will have the final say.
There is a word, a whisper brushing against my soul, that I am to bring to fruition on this pilgrimage home. It’s not far off now. I can almost hear it, like leaves rustling at my feet, like trees singing.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
~Isaiah 55:10-11
……..
With Mother’s Day approaching, I’ve been thinking of you, Mama. I’ve created a collection of short essays, journal prompts, favorites, and scripture cards for subscribers to the blog. If you’d like to subscribe and receive The Mother Journals: A Collection for Mothers as my gift to you, click here.
