Friesen: ‘An hour’ that caused our soul to grow
- Details
- Published on Thursday, April 10, 2014
By: Rita Friesen
myWestman.ca
It had been a busy day – a good day – in that I had accomplished my objectives, but it was tiring. Taking the edge off my delight was the painful fact that, despite warning twinges, I had over-extended my back muscles (picking up a pair of shoes) and those wonderful lower back spasms (sciatica) returned.
My last read of the day needed to be something light, something familiar and comforting. My hands sought and found a very old favourite, called “Rilla of Ingleside.”
I know the book. I skipped the sadder parts, and then, on an ear marked page, my spirit came to rest.
Rilla has just found out that her beloved brother has signed up for active duty. Rilla did not sleep that night. The body grows slowly and steadily but the soul grows by leaps and bounds. It may come to its full stature in an hour.
Light reading? A profound nugget of truth. Pausing to contemplate the implication of the sentence, my thoughts shifted to a high school classroom. Grade 12 English, and “Poetic Experience, An Anthology of Poems for Senior Students.” The copy in my possession belonged to my father, a hold over from the years he taught the subject. I appreciate the foot notes and the uneven underlining of significant passages. The thought of “full stature in an hour” is expressed in the following short poem.
“Erosion” by E.J. Pratt
It took the sea a thousand years,
A thousand years to trace
The granite features of this cliff,
In crag and scarp and base.
It took the sea an hour one night,
An hour of storm to place
The sculpture of these granite seams
Upon a woman’s face.
In just a moment, most of us can name ‘an hour’ that caused our soul to grow by leaps and bounds, a moment that carves the lines upon our face. Too often, it’s the loss of a loved one, a loss of someone or something we value that pulls us up short. But there are moments of beauty and grace so rich, so undeserved, that have the same effect.
A moment in time when we realize our humanness and desire to do better. A moment so poignant and pure that we are forever changed. The movement of new life within a woman’s body, the fruition of a dream. A hand clasped with tender care. The light still shining in a old person’s eyes. The hands, worn and wrinkled, form a life time of service.
When we can identify these changeling moments, we are the wiser and richer for them. My ongoing goal is to be present, to be real, in this moment. To see and feel and sense. To listen to my heart and the heart of others. Teach me Lord to cherish ‘the hours’ of my life.
