Thursday, March 3, 2011

It Is Only Love Which Sets Us Free

Some of you might remember my "Touched By An Angel" hyper-focus shortly after I moved to Columbia. For about a month, I faithfully watched three episodes of "Touched By An Angel" each night and recorded the theological truths at the end of each program.

As my schedule became increasingly busy, however, my ability to watch "Touched By An Angel" became increasingly less. In fact, I hadn't seen another episode of "Touched By An Angel" until last Thursday night while I sat in my apartment tending to Swankle The Hypercolor Ankle Deaton.

Maya Angelou made a guest appearance on Thursday night's third show. At the end of the show, after stress, conflict, mourning, and soul searching, Angelou's character read a poem that immediately moved near the top of my all-time favorite poems list.

The poem is about love. And I want to share it with you now in the hope that it will resonate with you like it resonated with me.

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

--Maya Angelou

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