To Emerge

O never star
Was lost; here
We all aspire to heaven and there is heaven
Above us.
If I stoop
Into a dark tremendous sea of cloud
It is but for a time; I press God's lamp
Close to my breast; its splendour soon or late
Will pierce the gloom. I shall emerge some day.

- Faith, by Robert Browning

Hiding Out

I am beginning now to see how radically the character of my spiritual journey will change when I no longer think of God as hiding out and making it as difficult as possible for me to find (God), but, instead, as the one who is looking for me while I am doing the hiding.

- From The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henry J. M. Nouwen