In the labouring.....

Thelma

This seems timely.....

The wonderful Jan Richardson writes: If you haven't met Thelma yet, I'll tell you that she showed up at my drafting table years ago, as I was working on the artwork for my book “Night Visions.” You can see that Thelma is not much like the ethereal, benign depictions of angels we often see today. Thelma is more like the angels who show up in the Bible, those messengers who come with outlandish invitations and wild expectations. In the reflection that accompanied her image in “Night Visions," I wrote, "An angel named Thelma is what I need in this season; an uppity angel at my shoulder. Someone who can breathe fire. Who will remind me that being nice won't sustain me through the labor. Who will cry out with me in the birth pangs. Who will dispatch the dragon who waits to devour what is struggling to be born." 

An Advent Blessing from an Angel Named Thelma 

Sweetheart,
I am here to tell you
that if you need to push,
if you need to press on,
then I will hold your hand
in the laboring.
Move heaven and earth
to clear a way for you.
Help you holler.
Cheer you on.

But I am thinking
that maybe first
what you need
is a nap.
That what is called for
is to lay yourself down
and rest
just for a little space.
Maybe do some dreaming.
Maybe think for a bit
on what is really
yours to do.

When you wake up,
when you rise,
I promise
then we will take on
the world.
Then.

—Jan Richardson 

Image: "An Angel Named Thelma" © Jan Richardson
janrichardson.com