Friday of the 4th of July Week-end = Independence

                                                  Friday's Collect 

Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none

other than 

  the way of

    life & peace. 

        -----------***----------

My initial inclination this morning was to use as my verse “When my spirit languishes within me you know my path” from Psalm 142 & pair it up with a desert scene. But I read on through the first reading (I Samuel 13:18-14:15) which totally confused me, about Jonathan and his armor bearer being killed by the Philistines (Was he being faithful or willful? I don’t know… * ) and then on to the conversion of Saul -> Paul  & ended up with the Collect…. The the final thing of Morning Prayer, sometimes that's a sign of near  desperation, And sometimes it’s out of completion like the final piece of the puzzle were you finally see the whole picture. This time it was the latter.  I came in and found some neat pictures of crosses from my 2009 trip to France, my first trip after Gordon’s death. I thought I'd choose one but  there was this great picture of Mary Running  that I have never been able to use but love. It’s a poster from some church in the Tarn, the hill towns out of Toulouse. It was perfect - a 

totally  different twist.  When my spirit languishes within 

me God does know my path. And can change me from languishing to rejoicing, from trudging to skipping. 

Sometimes I even let Him. Happy Independence!
             (*Saturday's reading has Jonathan very much alive 
so I obviously got it That Wrong!)