“In these uncertain and challenging times, I take heart and inspiration from mentors near and far, living and passed. One that I look to pretty consistently is Howard Thurman, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. Thurman’s theology of radical nonviolence influenced and shaped a generation of civil rights activists, and he was a key mentor to leaders within the movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1944, he co-founded, along with Alfred Fisk, the first major interracial, interdenominational church in the United States. I will be reading his Meditations of the Heart over our break next week, and offer this excerpt and some of his encouraging words.”
-Curtis Ogden
Dear Friends and Family,
“Look well to the growing edge. All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree, the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves, fresh blossoms, green fruit.
Such is the growing edge. It is the extra breath from the exhausted lung, the one more thing to try when all else has failed, the upward reach of life when weariness closes in upon all endeavor. This is the basis of hope in moments of despair, the incentive to carry on when times are out of joint and men and women have lost their reason, the source of confidence when worlds crash and dreams whiten into ash. Such is the growing edge incarnate. Look well to the growing edge.”
-Howard Thurman
PS. My go-to book when I am searching for wisdom and inspiration is Howard Thurman, specifically Meditations of the Heart. I found this article by Curtis Ogden, who shared the above quote by Howard Thurman and his own thoughts on challenging times. Please note that Mr. Ogden shared this in 2016.
In my mind, things have changed significantly in the past decade, and not necessarily for the better. But I also believe that sometimes things must completely fall apart before they can come together. I stand in prayer for all to rise up and come together for humanity’s highest and best.
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Staci