Today’s manna is falling as you read these words. Oh, you may not see it or feel it, but once you yearn for it, grace already belongs to you.

I was once in such a dark place that the manna was there but my tears obscured its presence. I could not taste it on my tongue or feel it as it fell.

It was then that I had to use my own tears to clear my way of obstacles. My tears turned into rage and my rage turned into fatigue and I slept.

When I woke up, I could not find my way inside. There was a block, a stone barring the way. I lay in a tomb of my own making.

Vaguely I heard voices around me. Murmurs of concern and love. Where was I?

Time lost its meaning and food was of little use to me. I drank bitter tonics to no avail.

My life was caught up in a trap I could not escape from. Nothing worked. My favorite books held words without meaning and I cursed God.

It was then that I took a giant leap into the nothingness that I had been avoiding all of my life.

I fell and fell and fell into the arms of oblivion. They were strong and sure, so I let go and let myself be carried.

Angels winged around me and they sang words I could not understand. That did not matter. I had left the world behind me. The world with all of its gold and glory. I had failed, but it did not matter. It had never mattered.

I fell asleep and slept for ages. The world kept turning. The seasons came and went and I rode the winds of what is.

Finally, I was gently put down here to write these words to you. They are not words of warning but of solace. Down is up and up is down. Measurements fail you when love is all you are.

Love comes to its own conclusions; you no longer have to judge and reason your way through life.

You have come home and the mantle of the manna drapes you in grace.

Selah.

Vicki Woodyard