Do serc im anmain, do grád im chride,
tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime.
Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
To be raised heavenward draws to mind the promise of eternal life being lived right now. Why do we think eternity suffers a fracture at our death? Why do we think there are two lives lived, one temporal and one eternal separated by a firewall of death?
Oh that I would have the mindfulness and courage to live each moment as if it were fully connected to every moment beyond, and finally to the moment of eternity! Therefore, each moment would become a thing of beauty onto itself because it is connected to eternity.
…each moment would become a thing of beauty onto itself because it is connected to eternity.
Grief and doubt, anger and even despair would take on a new, shinning quality in the light of eternity. This, then goes to the clause, “power of my power”. Even in the midst of hell on earth, one could be coursing with God’s power if one were connecting that moment of torment to the eternal.
Even as I type this, I find myself in a moment of high anxiety. I’ve had many anxious moments for weeks now, honestly, and I’m struggling to put this idea into practice. I pause and pray, “Lord, help me to stay mindful of eternity.” I wait for my nervous stomach to stop churning, and for the trembling in my limbs to cease. I wait for my imagination to become still instead of constantly projecting worst-case scenarios on the movie screen of my brain. But none of those things happen.
To be raised heavenward is not necessarily to have earth changed. His power is my power because of my weakness.
