January 23rd, 2012
“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”
(Isaiah 40:31)
Last year was a very difficult year for our family. In November it became much worse. That’s why I haven’t written this blog.
In the weeks that I have not felt that I could write these words kept going through my mind:
“Let go and let God.”
It is hard for me to do that. I am a person of action who needs to be steering the ship. This morning, as I was working, the verse from Isaiah came into my mind. It is one of my favorite verses from the Bible.
I ask the Lord to lift up my family on eagles’ wings and to lift up your family, too.
The Lord’s help when we are burdened is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: faith, freedom, God
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
November 2nd, 2011
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
(Psalm 19)
The sacred words in this psalm by David refer to “the heavens” that “declare the glory of God.” The words can also refer to people, people who make an impact on others by their acts of love and compassion. They don’t need to preach. They don’t need to teach. Their actions speak for themselves.
I remember the old saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” If you are a father or mother, you have probably been given the advice that your children learn more from what they see you do than by what you tell them they should do. As if parents don’t already have enough pressure on them!
Kidding aside, that advice is both true and reassuring. By simply acting in the kindest way we can to everyone who crosses our path we teach a valuable lesson without saying a word.
Being able to speak through your actions is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: kindness, sacred gifts, words
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
October 4th, 2011
Count Your Blessings
When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings.
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings.
I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds.
If you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.
This song, written by Cole Porter, was made famous by Bing Crosby. I think it appealed to so many people because what person hasn’t turned tossed and turned, unable to sleep, because worry kept them awake.
Today we can certainly identify with bankrolls that are getting smaller. Fortunately, we can also identify with the curly heads tucked safely in their beds. My family and my friends who are like family to me are my greatest blessing. I hope that you, too, fall asleep counting your blessings.
Each of our blessings is sacred, a gift from God. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: blessings, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
September 26th, 2011
We have been enjoying several days of glorious weather. I played hooky for an hour and drove to the park. As I sat outside gazing at a pond I was in awe of the beauty of the day. The sun was shining and the air still. The sky was an incredible blue with pure white, fluffy clouds. It was literally perfect.
I walked to the edge of the pond and was surprised to see water lilies. They were like a present. In fact the whole unplanned trip was a present to myself, just as the beauty of His creation is God’s gift to each of us.
He gave us the reds, oranges, golds and purples of sunrises and sunsets that take our breaths away. The tiny buds that burst into delicate flowers making our souls smile. The delicacy of butterflies and the gentle lapping of ocean waves. The irresistible smile of a baby and the echo of children’s laughter.
Each beautiful thing in our lives is a gift from God. God’s gift of beauty is sacred. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: beauty, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
September 17th, 2011
This was sent to me today by e-mail. It so powerful that I want to share it with you.
MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL
You say you will never forget where you were when
you heard the news On September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.
I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say ‘Good-Bye.’ I
held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the
peace to say, ‘Honey, I am not going to make it, but it
is OK..I am ready to go.’
I was with his wife when he called as she fed
breakfast to their children. I held her up as she
tried to understand his words and as she realized
he wasn’t coming home that night.
I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help. ‘I have been
knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!’ I said.
‘Of course I will show you the way home – only
believe in Me now.’
I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He
heard my voice and answered.
I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,
with every prayer. I was with the crew as they
were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the
believers there, comforting and assuring them that their
faith has saved them.
I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?
I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew
every name – though not all knew Me. Some met Me
for the first time on the 86th floor.
Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn’t hear Me calling to them through the
smoke and flames; ‘Come to Me… this way… take
my hand.’ Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.
I did not place you in the Tower that day. You
may not know why, but I do. However, if you were
there in that explosive moment in time, would you have
reached for Me?
Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you. But someday your journey will end. And I
will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may
be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are
‘ready to go.’
I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.
God
God’s love for us is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: God, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
September 11th, 2011
There are some moments you will never forget. The moment you found out that a plane hit one of the Twin Towers is that moment for every American and for many people around the world.
On September 11, 2001 our lives changed forever. Cruelty and treachery on a scale we could never have imagined was visited upon our land. Our hearts broke into more than 3,000 pieces, one piece for each person who died that day. I pray for each of them and for their families.
My heart is seared by thoughts of the eight children, ages 2 to 11, who were on the planes that struck the Twin Towers. In remembrance of them I’d like to share this poem. It was written in 2002 by another 11-year-old, Brittany Clark.
She wrote the poem for her father, Benjamin Keefe Clark, a food service worker.
She said, “This poem makes me feel like my daddy is speaking to me.”
I give you this one thought to keep/
I am with you still, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on the snow.
I am as sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush.
Of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not think of me as gone,
I am with you still in each new dawn.
This poem was Brittany’s gift to her father. It is a sacred gift for each of us to remember and to pray for those who died and for those who have been sickened by the toxic gases.
Remembering is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: remembering, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
September 7th, 2011
“The Lord bless and keep you;
the Lord make his face
shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His
countenance upon you,
and give you peace.”
(Numbers 6:24-26)
I have always loved these words. Just reading them makes me feel peaceful. I love the idea of God shining His face upon me. It tells me that His eyes are always upon us and we are always in His hands.
Jesus said,
“I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.”
(John 8:12)
The more years pass the more acutely aware I become that we all have pain in our lives. Sometimes it is a temporary pain. Sometimes it is a sorrow that is always with us.
As I pray for help for people who are suffering I pray that each person will feel the Lord’s blessings and have a lightening of the physical and emotional burdens they carry.
The Lord’s light is a sacred gift. I wish you countless gifts.
Tags: God, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
September 1st, 2011
Delight yourselves in the Lord, and He will tend to your heart’s desires.
Psalm 37:4
Delighting ourselves in the Lord means delighting ourselves in his creation, right down to the tiniest things. There are so many tiny things in life that delight. I think of:
a baby’s toes
a flower petal
a kitten
a breath
a word
We are delighted by the smallest things in God’s creation. We stand in awe of what these tiny things may become. I think of:
a 1 lb. 2 oz. baby who grew into a tall, healthy college student
a word that led to more words and became the first word of a great novel
an idea that becomes a masterpiece
a stone that became the cornerstone of a cathedral
Finally, I think of the parable of the mustard seed.
He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”
Our faith is a tiny seed in our heart that grows with each passing day.
Faith is a sacred gift. I wish you countless gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
August 23rd, 2011
You may be the only Bible that some people will ever read. The words you speak and the things you do may be the only things they will know about being a Christian.
“Actions speak louder than words.” What you do tells the world who you are. Do you help people even when it is inconvenient or difficult or do you turn around and keep walking?
Do you often speak ill of people or do you try to speak good about them, even when the good may be hard to find? Do you turn the other cheek when hurt, even when you wish you could “get even?” Do you try to love the unlovable and forgive the unforgivable?
I often remember these words of St. Paul:
“…for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”
Romans 7:15
I so often feel that I don’t do the good things I truly want to do and may do the bad or hurtful things I don’t want to do. I guess the most important thing for each of us to do is to live a good life by trying to love others as God loves us.
“And so I am giving a new commandment to you now –
love each other just as much as I love you.
Your strong love for each other will prove to the world
that you are My disciples.”
John 13:34, 35
Trying to be the best person that you can be is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
August 17th, 2011
Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains,
at the huge waves of the sea,
at the long courses of the rivers,
at the vast compass of the ocean,
at the circular motion of the stars;
and they pass by themselves with out wondering.
Saint Augustine
As I read this quote I think of the wonder of man. We love deeply. We would gladly give our lives to save the people we love. Our love is so deep that our greatest joy is helping those people and doing what we can to make them happy.
Man truly is a wonder. We are able to think and create. We write. We compose. We invent. We sing, dance, run, jump. We care for people in need. We care for animals. God created us to love all of His creation.
Being able to appreciate the wonder of man is a sacred gift.
I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts, wonder
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
August 8th, 2011
“In all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him who loved us.”
Romans 8:37
With permission I’d like to share this beautiful column with you.
There is…
by Roy Lessin
For every hectic work day there is a quiet rest…
For every painful experience there is a healing touch…
For every negative feeling there is an abiding joy…
For every disappointment there is a certain hope…
For every turbulent storm there is a sure foundation…
For every doubting thought there is a calm assurance…
For every hurtful action there is a forgiving love. |
These beautiful words make me think of that old saying, “For every cloud there is a silver lining.” It is so easy to dwell on the negative, the hurtful, the disappointing, and not remember that love and joy are there for us, too. God’s love is always there for us.
God’s love is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: love, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
July 30th, 2011
“In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.”
Psalm 94:19
With these words God is saying, “I am your Father. I know you. I love you. I care about you.”
If you or someone you love has lost their job and fears for their family, these words were spoken for you. If you fear you could lose your house, these words were spoken for you. If you fear for the life of a gravely-ill loved one or mourn the loss of someone whom you loved dearly, these words were spoken for you.
Whatever our fears or worries or pain it is comforting to know that God keeps us in the palm of His hand. It is sometimes very difficult to corral that “multitude of anxieties” that race around and around and around our minds and pain our hearts. When they do, I hope that knowing God is there to help us truly will comfort us.
God’s comfort is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: comfort, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
July 20th, 2011
The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
The Paradoxical Commandments were written by Kent Keith in 1968, when he was 19 and a sophomore at Harvard College. They have been quoted many times in the past 43 years. Mother Teresa thought they were important enough to put up on the wall of her children’s home in Calcutta.
I love the idea that we should do what we know is right no matter what. We may know that the good we do could be unappreciated or undone, but we should do it anyway.
Doing good “anyway” is a sacred gift. I wish you countless gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
July 10th, 2011
I pray constantly for the Lord to help my family and friends and people that I know need His help. Even as I pray I realize that they have needs that I don’t know so I pray that He will help them in all the ways that they need Him to help.
I admit that I rarely pray a formal prayer. My prayers are usually either prayers for help or prayers of gratitude. That’s why I’d like to say this prayer and share it with you. It is everything that, in my heart, I’d like to pray.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
(St.Francis of Assisi)
Being able to pray is a sacred gift. I wish you countless gifts.
Tags: prayer, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
July 5th, 2011
Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.
(2 corinthians 3 17)
This evening I watched a spectacular fireworks display on television. The fireworks were in New York City. Seeing the hand of the Statue of Liberty holding the torch aloft with the fireworks display in the background took my breath away. It was such a beautiful symbol of the freedom we enjoy in America.
How blessed we are in this country to be able to be safe on this holiday and watch fireworks with our family and listen to “Amazing Grace” and “America the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Fittingly, service members were standing on the platform under the torch enjoying the fireworks. It is because of men and women like them that we are free to enjoy life.
Seeing them made me think of these words from “America the Beautiful:”
O beautiful for heroes prov’d
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country lov’d,
And mercy more than life.
Major Kelly Strong USAF said it perfectly in his poem, “Freedom Isn’t Free.” He wrote:
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
I pray that none of us ever forgets that the freedom we enjoy every day was bought with the sacrifices of men and women we will never know.
Freedom is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: freedom, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
June 25th, 2011
“Man looks at the outward appearance.
But the Lord looks at the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16:7)
The Heart
How many times it has crossed my mind,
I’ve wished I could be just like her,
Soft and sweet, and dressed so neat,
A prettier person is hard to find.
She never seems to get upset,
Or rush from here to there,
Her manners are so perfect,
Why can’t I be so fair?
But then the Holy Spirit whispers,
And when I pay attention I hear,
“You are looking at the outside,
Inside she’s filled with fear”.
I couldn’t help the broad smile,
That brightened up my face,
Because inside of me,
All fear has been erased.
When I asked Jesus to be my King,
I gave my life into His hands,
I trusted Him completely,
All my problems to withstand.
It doesn’t matter what I wear,
Or how I cut or comb my hair,
It only matters who I trust,
And how much I really care.
~ Eva May Young ~
This poem is so lovely that I wanted to share it with you. It reminds me that what we see on the outside when we look at a person isn’t the whole person.
It is like looking at the outside of a house. We may be able to glimpse inside the house through a window or an open door. But that’s all it is. A glimpse.
The wisdom to know that what we see when we look at a person is nothing more than the outside is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
June 18th, 2011
A dear friend named Ray has died. He was a lovely gentleman and he gave me one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. He gave me the gift of photography.
The first time I saw Ray take a picture we were in a small room lit only by candlelight. I was in awe that he was able to take pictues without using a flash. They were beautiful.
So was Ray. He was a kind, patient teacher. The first time I took a picture that I thought was good I showed it to him and told him I was thinking of having it framed. He very gently said, “You’ll do better.” I did.
For twenty-eight years I have had the joy of seeing the world through a camera lens. Even better I have had the joy of making people happy by capturing special moments in their lives.
Because of Ray’s kindness my life has been richer than it would have been. Every time I take a picture it is a gift from him.
Giving of yourself unselfishly is a sacred gift. I wish you countless gifts.
Tags: photography, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
June 3rd, 2011
Yesterday I read a column in our local town newspaper. The writer talked about seeing a just-born fawn and its mother. She called it a “God moment.” What a beautiful phrase!
It made me think of the moments in my life that were God moments. I remembered….
a rainbow arcing across the sky after a heavy rain.
holding my newborn daughters in my arms for the first time.
seeing an unbelievably turquoise lake at the base of a hill that was too steep to climb.
watching a newborn Morgan horse foal stand on its spindly legs for the first time.
finding a tiny, perfect, purple flower in a wet field on a drizzly afternoon.
breathing in the essence of my grandbabies as I gently kissed their soft, sweet cheeks.
Each God moment was incredibly beautiful.
What have your God moments been?
God God moments are sacred gifts.
Tags: God, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
May 29th, 2011
“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.”
(Flora Whittemore)
When I read this quote, I thought “how true.” I don’t know who Flora Whittemore is/was. I can’t find anyone who does. I do know that I find these words to be very true.
When someone talks about opening doors and life changes, they are usually thinking of those big doors. Graduation, marriage, the birth or adoption of a child, a new job, retirement, sickness, the death of a loved one. When those doors open for us, our lives are forever changed. Going through those doors mark milestones in our lives.
In the end, though, I think it is the choices we make each day that decide the way we live. Do we open a door and speak up when we are wronged? Do we open a door and take a chance on doing something we are afraid to do? Do we choose to befriend the friendless? Do we take time we don’t have and money we don’t have to help someone else? Do we close the door on what is comfortable and open the door to what is possible?
The ability to open and close doors is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
May 24th, 2011
Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love,
the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
(From the television show The Wonder Years)
Yesterday we buried my cousin, Bill. He had a very hard life, but was happy in the circumstances in which he found himself.
At the graveside ceremony his twin brother, Jim, spoke. He talked about when he and Bill and I were growing up. Every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas we were together at our grandmother’s. The weekend of the county fair we would sit on the porch of her apartment and watch the parade pass by on Main Street. Then, we would go to the fair.
My grandmother and parents and Bill and Jim’s father are gone. In my memory, though, I can see all of us sitting in my grandmother’s living room and gathered around her table. In fact, in my mind, I can see everything in her apartment.
That is the beauty of memory. All of the special times in our lives are still alive in our minds and our hearts.
Memory is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: memory, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
May 15th, 2011
From the time I was a little girl I loved these lyrics by Irving Berlin:
If you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.
Young as I was I loved the idea of falling asleep safe in God’s arms after I said my bedtime prayer. As I grew up life with its troubles pressed on me and sometimes it was hard to put aside my worries long enough to count my blessings.
I always knew I was blessed. I always knew that I had many blessings to count. But…. (Isn’t there always a “but?”) I knew I had many blessings, but there were always troubles clamoring for the blessing-counting place in my mind.
The challenge for me and maybe for you, too, has been to try to halt the clamoring shouts of my troubles and replace them with the sweet whisperings of my blessings. It was a wise man who wrote these words:
A good memory is one that can remember the day’s blessings and forget the day’s troubles.
(Unknown)
Counting blessings instead of troubles is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
May 8th, 2011
Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while,
but their hearts forever.
(Author Unknown)
When I think of the greatest gifts the Lord has given us, it is impossible not to think of mothers. I think of Mary, Jesus’s mother. I remember her unquestioning obedience to God’s will when she was little more than a child herself. I think of her gentle love for Jesus as she and Joseph raised Him to be what God wanted Him to be.
Ivana Kobilka
(1861-1926)
I think of all the mothers throughout history who loved their children more than themselves. I know that a mother would give her life to save her child from harm. I know the joy and worry, the fear and tenderness of being a mother. I thank God each day for my daughters. Without them my life would have been a pale shadow of what it has been.
Knowing a mother’s love and giving a mother’s love are sacred gifts. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: mothers, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
April 28th, 2011
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
As I wrote about how much of a failure I often feel myself to be I was reminded by a reader that we are each created in our mother’s womb to be what God wants us to be. Her words made me think that, instead of seeing the negatives about ourselves, we should see the positives.
That made me ask myself, “What are my strengths?” As I began to think about this question I thought of the strengths that we would normally list: courage, kindness, honesty, patience, intelligence, a loving heart, perseverence, loyalty.
These are amazing strengths, but there strengths that we might never consider: the ability to meditate, to be alone, but not lonely, to rejoice in a sunset or a rainbow to savor even the smallest pleasures -a bagel with cream cheese, a smile, a root beer lollipop, the sound of geese returning in the Spring.
What are your strengths? Be kind to yourself as you answer this question. The Lord has fashioned you amazingly. Your strengths come from Him and were fashioned by Him.
Your strengths are a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
April 24th, 2011
“Be not affrighted. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”
Mark 16:6
Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Fra Angelico
Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb
1440-42
Jesus’s death and resurrection were a sacred gift for us. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: Easter, resurrection, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
April 22nd, 2011
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble,
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
We attended a beautiful Good Friday service today. As they sang this song and read from the Passion of our Lord my heart was heavy with grief. I thought of all that Jesus suffered.
He was left alone in the Garden of Gethsamane while He prayed. He asked his disciples to stay awake and be with Him, but they slept. He asked again and again they slept, leaving Him alone to bear the agony of knowing his coming pain and death. St Luke wrote,
“And being in Agony, He prayed the longer.
And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.”
He was mocked and beaten and scourged. He suffered the pain of having a crown of thorns pushed down on his head and, then, pounded into it. As He bled He was forced to drag a heavy cross up to Golgotha where He was crucified, a death of unimaginable pain.
My heart is so sad for the pain Jesus suffered. As Christians we sorrow for Jesus and this sorrow, a measure of our love, is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacredgifts.
Tags: sacred gifts, sorrow
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
April 13th, 2011
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:13-14
I have always wrestled with the idea that the Lord made me special. I sure think that He made everyone special, but, as I think that, there is always the exception – me.
I know that He created my inmost being. I know that He knit me together as I was being formed in my mother’s womb. I know that I am wonderfully made, because He made me, and I know that His works are wonderful, BUT…
I have always had great difficulty seeing myself as wonderful. Instead I see every flaw, from the tiniest to the most huge. I see every place that I have failed. Everything I did that I shouldn’t have done. Everything I didn’t do that I should have done. In my mind I hear every word that I should have spoken and I hear every word that I shouldn’t have spoken.
I am acutely aware of my failings and often feel a failure, even though I don’t think that the Lord wants me to see myself that way. I think He wants us to see ourselves as He sees us. The Lord told Samuel,
“I look at the heart.”
Samuel 16:7
I hope that you will see yourself as the Lord sees you instead of seeing where you may have failed. Seeing “me” through God’s eyes is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: failure, me, sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
April 2nd, 2011
Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
I had my accident exactly a year ago. March 27. You would think that when my world literally crashed around me I would be able to be still and listen to the Lord. In the beginning when I needed help with everything I should have been able to listen. I couldn’t, at least not very well.
The physical demands of living and the emotional upset were so strong that I was simply surviving. My unhappiness overwhelmed me. I never thought of it this way before, but it wasn’t just a black cloud hanging over my head. It was a black heaviness inside me. It filled every pore.
I spent hours and hours watching television. Most of what I watched was mindless drivel. Maybe being still was the last thing I wanted to do. I read and read and read. I have always loved to read. After the accident, though, reading wasn’t just a great pleasure. It was a great escape. Of course, you can’t escape pain, but you can escape the mental anguish for awhile.
During my recovery I did find myself drawing closer to God. I am very grateful for that. This closeness, though, was never stillness. I have always found it difficult to be still and just wait to hear the Lord speak. My mind is filled with “why did…” and “what should I….” and “how am I going to….”
Turning off my mind is very difficult. I have read that we are supposed to let a thought float into our minds and float out so that we can meditate. That doesn’t work for me. I have so many thoughts that they race through my brain like they’re on a freeway. To make matters worse, the big thoughts refuse to leave. They take up residence and run around and around in my head.
“Be still” is a command I find impossible to keep. I may sit there and say, “Here I am Lord. I’m ready,” but the chatter in my head doesn’t stop.
As I thought about how to solve this problem I decided to look at the quote in a new way. “Be still and know that I am God” may mean simply “Stop worrying and know that I am always here helping you, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.”
I may not be able to stop the thoughts whirling through my brain, but I can choose to believe the Lord’s words and know that He will give me strength.
SO DO NOT FEAR, FOR I AM WITH YOU;
DO NOT BE DISMAYED, FOR I AM YOUR GOD.
I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU AND HELP YOU;
I WILL UPHOLD YOU WITH MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND. ~
Isaiah 41:10
Choosing to still our fears is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts, stillness
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
March 28th, 2011
“As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:15)
I love this verse. To me it says everything we need to know about being good a good Christian. In fact, it says everything we need to know about what it means to be a good person. What it means to serve is summed up in Christ’s words in Matthew 25:35-40.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in.
I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me.
I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
The “righteous” asked Christ when they saw him hungry or thirsty or needing clothes or in prison or sick. Christ answered,
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
I so often feel that I have failed in doing what I should do and not doing what I shouldn’t do. I feel that I should be so much better in every area of my life. It helps me to think about these verses and to know that as we help other people in even the smallest ways we are serving the Lord.
Serving is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts, serving
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
March 23rd, 2011
Two days ago I spent an hour sitting in a mall people watching. Before my accident I would have happily been shopping, walking easily through the mall, not even thinking about how lucky I was to be able to walk.
Now, walking can be difficult. I definitely walk slowly. Going up an escalator is not possible. That’s why I chose to wait and not shop with my family.
As I waited I watched a parade of people coming and going. I was struck by the differences I saw. The people were of different races, sizes, shapes and ages.
Some spoke languages I didn’t recognize. As I looked closely I began to notice differences in the way they walked. There was the older man who walked with the rolling gait of a long-time sailor. As he stood near me I was tempted to ask him if he had been in the navy.
There was a couple that both had distinctive ways of walking. He walked with the weight favoring the outsides of his feet. She walked a step behind with a slight limp. A little girl came past literally dancing on air, hopping and twirling. She radiated joy.
That was another difference I saw. Most people showed little emotion. They just walked by with neutral expressions, even when they were talking.
Sometimes, though, someone animated came past. There were two middle-aged women in an intense discussion. They were gesturing with their hands, nodding their heads and one said, “But you told me you would….” I lost the rest of the sentence as they moved past.
I enjoyed people watching. As I noticed the differences in people I became to think about the idea of being “different.”
There are many ways we are each different. Some of our differences are involuntary, like our ages and the way we talk, our facial expressions and the color of our eyes. Other differences are of our choosing, like the clothes we wear and the words we speak.
I began to think about how choosing to be different could change our lives. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could take our mind out, give it a
shake, put it back in and see the world in a different way?
If we are intolerant, we could be different and be tolerant. If we are fearful of life, we could be different and be brave. If we feel overwhelmed, we could instead feel in charge and at peace with where we are in life.
Whatever our situation, we can choose to see it differently, to look at it from a different point of view.
Differences in ourselves and others are a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
March 14th, 2011
“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”
(Reinhold Niebuhr)
I am not a serene person. Even the suggestion that I might be would make anyone who knows me laugh. Not only am I not serene. I am as far from serene as it is possible to be.
Today, though, I decided that I want to be serene. I had a wonderful, long conversation with a friend, Vann. He told me how he and his wife and son have made copies of the Serenity Prayer and taped them up around their house as reminders.
We talked about the recent death of his sister and the grave illnesses of his father and young brother. We, also, talked about my slow recovery from my injuries and my sadness at not being completely healed yet and my refusal to accept that I might have to settle for a new “normal.”
While I don’t know if I will ever accept that idea, I do know that I would like to be able to face the possibility with serenity. In fact, I would like to start distinguishing between what I can change and what I can’t change and letting go of hurt and upset and anger and frustration over what I can’t change.
As Vann said, we need to “let go and let God.” If we don’t, it means that we don’t have enough faith. He is right. The people I have known who were serene were also people who had a deep faith.
Aftter today’s conversation I can see why Vann is such a happy person. Talking to him reminded me of the lyrics from one of my favorite hymns:
“Be not afraid.
I go before you always.
Come follow me, and
I will give you rest.”
Serenity is a sacred gift. I wish you countless sacred gifts.
Tags: sacred gifts, serenity
Posted in Inspiration, spirituality
