May you find peace, this day.
May you find the strength for what this day brings.
May your heart rest within the embrace of those who love you.
May your love cradle them in return.
In that palpable exchange of love,
May you find peace, this day.
Hello, Holy One.
I say your name and smile.
The brush of your presence lifts my heart.
I am softly grateful for a moment of quiet,
For a whisper of love,
For my soul’s anchor buried deep within your heart.
I feel its tug.
My fingers follow the chain, link by link
To the very center of it all.
And there, where the deep surrounds me,
Where I am enveloped by quiet,
I find stillness and peace.
Silence without fidgeting; hope beyond words;
The invasive quiet that comes the moment I release it all into your hands;
For these I am grateful.
This quiet place is the home of my heart.
This deep connection is the essence of being.
I am filled with wonder, with you.
It is only the barest brush with mystery.
Yet it feeds me with a richness that is
Beyond, below, above, within … all.
amen
As long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. – Job 27: 3-4
‘Honesty is the bare-bones expression of faith.’ – Jack Levison
Honesty.
I admire an honest struggle. Even if the truth you bring to the struggle seems, to me, to be somewhat askew. None of us have a corner on the whole, untattered truth, anyway. But, if we come to the encounter all dressed up in pretense and pretext, we have not really come at all. Continue reading
This is one of those times when the world is changing so fast that about all we can do is hold on …
Hold on and watch the miracle of new creation,
For we are witnesses to a new reality being born out of chaos.
It is of some comfort that the last creation started with chaos, too.
We hold on in hope … and hope does not disappoint, because even this new world is held in the hands of ultimate, intimate love.
Or, maybe, there is just a bit more we can do. Perhaps we can let go of our own efforts to control, and use our time, instead, to receive and pass on that love.
That we can do – even in the midst of chaos.
Be still and know …
Be still and know …
I know you …
You are the one who I knit together in your mother’s womb;
Who I have loved from your very beginning.
You are the one I have walked beside each day.
You are the one who (sometimes, when you think to do it) leans into my arms.
You are the one I have called
Into this moment, this day, this place.
You are the one I have gifted
With gifts matched to those of your peers
So that, together, we may love the world.
Be still a moment and know.
Know that I know you.
Know that you can know me;
That figuring it all out is not a prerequisite;
That trust is the first step in knowing.
Take my hand.
Walk with me.
It is in the walking that we will deepen our knowing.
We will make the path as we walk together,
And in the walking, you will know.
So … how can I be still while I am walking?
The stillness comes when you release the outcome into my hands.
The stillness comes when you know, fully know,
That you are not judged by what you do.
Judgment is reserved for the work. The better word is discretion; wisdom.
It’s not that anything goes … but that all is in my hands.
When you are still,
When your heart opens to my whisper,
Then you will know.
You are known.
You are loved, and held, and gifted.
And we are walking, together.
‘The Spirit is the durable presence of God from first breath to last.’ – Jack Levison
[photo by Thomas Mues per cc 2.0]
[This meditation was sparked in response to ‘Day 4’ in Forty Days with the Holy Spirit: Fresh Air for Every Day by Jack Levison.]
Epiphany: (noun)
A sudden awakening
A flash of intuition and deeper understanding
An awareness that comes after a long and arduous journey from the east,
Where you first saw the star.
An insight that is accompanied by worship
And the giving of your most precious gifts,
In grateful recognition that there really is hope for the world
And for us all.
[photo, filtered, by Waiting For The Word per cc 2.0]
[reformatted and reposted]
Can you re-ignite my soul? That’s a venture worthy of 2016.
I am in a cold wood. The wind is brutal, but I’ve found a small enclave where the rock and brush surround me close enough to form a shield. I hunker down and hold myself close, burying my head between my knees, leaning back against a large tree. I breathe. Once. Twice. Now a deeper breath. My heart slows a bit. I begin to relax. Continue reading
Quiet Hope 