Fire in the Trees
While I watched my selfishness be replaced over time
An illuminated sphere of humanity etched in my mind
Though invisible, its inner beauty took my breath away
Growing in strength, it outgrew itself and could not stay
I had to let it go if faith’s curiosity was to be satisfied
Prayer became a gradually visible path towards outside
In a vivid dream, my patron Saint Francis also agreed
This vision long enough contained, he would intercede
I woke up startled at how real the conversation was
Faith told me he had Christ’s ear, to plead for my cause
As daybreak began to show first light’s worldliness
God’s wonder started unwinding my unworthiness
Clouds began to align in slow motion cinematography
The sun flamed and burned into a perfect arch of glory
For the first time, the sphere was real in this reality
It glowed in the low sky, undulated between the trees
It, like me, had finally escaped the shell of my humanity
I knew in the moment Christ’s decision unequivocally
The fire within had found a way to burn instead outside
Free at last to explore beyond restraint what was inside
Both faith and every sense I had told me more change was occurring in my life. Normally I get subtle hints or clues that I have to figure out, but God does not always work that way. I sat down to pray in the early morning, long before the sun rose. As dawn broke, the sunrise started out as a pinkish/orange glow slowly flaming into an arch then disappearing in seconds.
Stunned, I recognized the sphere that had been visiting me for forty years finding its way outside of self. As weeks went by, the reality of the encounter and its disappearance from my daily life began to set in. It seemed like only a year before I had determined that I had been simply intellectualizing Christ’s Cross protecting the sphere of humanity. This new moment illuminated an acceptance of God asking us join in the suffering by sharing the Cross.
For further reflection: Ephesians 6