As seasons change I am noticing the change in sunlight and find myself anticipating the daybreak. Then I read this quote –
We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Some mornings I actually awake before dawn! Turning the clocks back help me eventually get up earlier. “Reawaken with an infinite expectation of the dawn.” Our neighbor Chuck is dying from the leukemia he has fought for the last 12 months. The doctors say there is nothing more they can do for him. He is not responding to treatment. From listening to his heart’s desire to go be with Jesus, I imagine he only has an infinite expectation of waking in the Light of Christ, not the dawn of the sun, but the Son.
Those of us less aware of our dying are called by Thoreau to reawaken and KEEP ourselves awake by an infinite expectation of the dawn. How are you at this admonition?
When was the last time you looked towards the east while it was still dark on the earth and had an expectation of the dawn? A new start! A new day! Another attempt to enjoy life. Life in the here and now? Perhaps you can arise early tomorrow and be like the watchman in the Psalms?
I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:6 NIV
Such devastation from floods, fire, drought, scorching heat?
“Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal. The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfall events.” https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/evidence/
Floods from a portion of glacier breaking off, sending water and mud to wipe out people and towns? Total devastation and enormous loss of life. Earlier no one in my generation would have thought this was even possible as a result of climate change. Yet, here we are.
Water from tremendous thunderstorms inundating portions of America. Cars, homes, towns underwater. Wind and storms continue with hurricane season arriving earlier each year.
Prayer certainly helps as people face the loss of everything they own. Some even suffer the loss of loved ones.
As I watch a goldfinch hang upside down on a “volunteer” sunflower in our flower bed, I am reminded that we are given the responsibility to be keepers of the earth. For the most part we have done a lousy job through our greed and overall disregard as to the effects our consumerism has on the planet. Lord God Almighty, forgive us and help us mend our ways I pray.
Look at shells on sidewalk. Then focus above the shells to see the bright yellow bird! (I could not capture the image of the bird upside down.)
This report in the L A Times says: In the Rocky Mountains, years of extreme heat and drought have baked the landscape, drying up streams that feed the Colorado River and desiccating pastures where cattle graze.
The unrelenting dryness has brought hardship upon cattle ranchers, who say their livelihoods increasingly are under threat.
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case in which major oil companies are being sued for the effects of global warming, a group of Colorado ranchers is voicing support for the the idea that the fossil fuel industry should be held to account.
The ranchers depend on snowmelt that feeds the Colorado River and its tributaries to nourish grasses and hay pastures for their herds. But this year the Rockies had the least snow on record, and they’ve watched springs dry up and creeks dwindle.
The lack of water has ravaged grasslands and left ranchers unable to grow enough hay, forcing them to buy feed for their cows at high prices.
It’s been so dry that Valdez no longer can get water in his irrigation system for his animals to drink. He has turned to buying water and hauling it with a tanker truck to fill troughs for the cows.
Floods, drought, storms,record high temperatures, wars and rumors of wars … Lord, deliver us and forgive us we pray. Help us to recognize our part in this massive destruction. Show us each how to amend our ways and live with an awareness of our responsibility for the calamity.
Book of Common Prayer Page 827, Prayer 41. For the Conservation of Natural Resources
Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Seems like wherever I turn these days folks are seeking direction and fulfillment for their everyday lives. I keep returning again and again to Rumi, the poet, theologian, Islamic scholar, and Sufi Mystic. I am not looking to replace my Christian faith, but this guy understood the depths of mysticism and genuine faith.
Merriam-Webster defines mysticism as a religious practice based on the belief that knowledge of spiritual truth can be gained by praying or thinking deeply. I know Jesus would agreed.
Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop. There are quite a few dead leaves dropping around here and summer is not even complete. How about the things we fill our lives with that do not fulfill us? Can we drop some of those and be more like the tree described in the Psalms?
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that sinners tread or sit in the seat of scoffers, 2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. 3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. Psalm 1:1-13 NRSVUE
Whatever lifts the corners of your mouth, trust that. There is a local billboard that states “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” It is powerful advice. Our worship service has children participate especially in collecting the offering. There is also a special children’s sermon that is delightful. I am always refreshed by the children. And they know how to smile!
Before I had the recent foot surgery if I saw someone in a wheelchair I made an effort to get on their eye level and greet them with a smile. Since I have so recently driven electric wheelchair shopping carts in so many different stores I am even more inclined to do that. It is an entirely different world down there. Most people just hurry past and ignore those who are seated. Try giving those folks a smile of yours! If you have never driven one of those carts, the next time you see them lined up for charging you should try one, just to gain a new perspective! Of course, if there is only one or two please leave it for those of us who cannot walked the area of American mega-stores! There are some people who would see me reaching for an item and ask if they could help me with it. There is still kindness all around us!
Hard, but oh so true. Constantly flowing, never clinging, always embracing the new. Wowsers. Here are just a couple of short songs to keep you in the ways of a river today.
This morning my meditation sites seemed to all converge. Don’t you just love when that happens? God uses all the sources around us to point to the Divine will for us.
Challenge to me is can I stay right here in the present moments as they unfold this day? Not worry about if I can attend the book discussion group this evening. Having no fret about completing my writing so I can teach a new pattern to someone tomorrow morning. No concern about something I said or did yesterday. Just right here. Right now. This present moment, enjoy this gift.
Then the Scripture meditation on another app:
12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us, then, who are mature think this way, and if you think differently about anything, this, too, God will reveal to you. 16 Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. Philippians 3:13-16 NRSVUE
Paul urges us to turn loose of the past, anything we have already laid hold of we should keep, but not dwell there in that past accomplishment. Press on toward “the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” Right here I want to embrace You Lord and Your will for me.
It has been said that if you do not know what God is asking you to do right now then obey the last thing that you heard. In other words, if I do not have new marching orders, do the last thing I heard. How do you accomplish that? Are you obedient to what you have been told or are you always seeking for something else, some new thing you might like better?
Trying to find artwork to illustrate this blog entry I found runners and then more runners (that does not apply to me as I barely walk right now) then even worse, a guy walking a tightrope over the Grand Canyon (I fear heights). For me to ‘press on toward’ means do not stop where you are for more than this moment. On toward the goal.
Along with Paul I do not consider this a done deal. It requires my discipline and obedience daily, at times hourly. “Let those of us, then, who are mature think this way.” Ouch that could hurt on days when I am stuck in some other kind of thinking! The good Lord does not leave us to ourselves. Paul goes on to write “and if you think differently about anything, this, too, God will reveal to you.”
Holy Spirit come please, correct my wrong thinking and help me to follow hard after the thoughts of the Lord God Almighty. Deliver me from brain habits and flesh habits and world habits. Help me recognize and cling to Christ-like habits. Make me wholly Yours. Amen.
This series of books written by Sharon Garlough Brown features 4 women on their spiritual journey, ending with Book 4, entitled An Extra Mile. I finally started reading book 4 and have been staying awake longer at night due to the story. Brown is a terrific author! Once a librarian told me you know it is a good book when you wonder what the characters are doing when you are not reading.
In part 2 of this book, Page 166, a couple of the women are experiencing an experiential prayer journey to the cross on Holy Saturday. The fourth prayer station is described as follows:
Three dead trees were secured in five-gallon buckets with duct tape and rocks. Draped through the bare branches of the trees was a long black cloth, at the top of which was painted the silhouette of a weeping woman. Blue beads and crystals representing tears hung from the branches, and at the base of one of the trees was a puddle fashioned from turquoise tulle.
“Jesus Speaks to Weeping Women”, the sign read. Beside it was the Scripture text from Luke 23:27-31
A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then
“‘They will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
I have read the Bible through several times and studied particular books many times. I did not recall this passage at all. See why I like her writing? The image of the dead trees, the way the woman’s tears were depicted; certainly her church must have had this display once?
Two characters stop at this prayer station. The author writes out their experiences. These two paragraphs drew me enough to turn down the page in my book (rather than look for a pen or pencil as I read into the night). Page 170
But I can’t fake joy, Lord. What I have right now to offer you is sorrow. Gratitude, too, but also sorrow. I miss ___ _____.I miss my work. I miss my space. I grieve what was. I grieve what will never be. I grieve.
But I’m not the only one who grieves. I sit and stare at these dead trees watered by tears and find myself strangely comforted at the thought of being part of a community of the brokenhearted and the disappointed who keep watch for redemption. For resurrection. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Let that be true, Lord! Not just for me. For all of us.
This has been a difficult summer in our household. Recovery from the foot surgery. Storms. Multiple deaths in our neighborhood. Storms. Bob got really sick and is on multiple inhalers and treatments for his lungs. Another death looming. Garden going to seed despite the efforts of friends and both myself and Bob .
I know you invite me to trust you as Redeemer, Lord. Not to expect you to be the God who fixes broken things or prevent brokenness from happening but to trust you to be the One who redeems broken things, makes your presence known in the midst of all that is broken, and keeps us company as we grieve. You do make all things well. Like Julian of Norwich’s prayer. All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well. Someday. No matter what.
God is with us in anything and everything that happens to us in this life. Somehow everything that happens to us in this life can form and shape and prepare us for life beyond this world as well.
If you have never read this series of books I cannot urge you enough to look into them! Book 1 is entitled Sensible Shoes and introduces you to the four main characters. Those characters are developed through the all four books and certainly worth the read.
Last spring our contemporary worship band made a point of learning this song. We sang it this week as our offertory hymn, noting the death of Dolly Parton. The song was written by Zach Williams. In an interview he stated that he just kept hearing Dolly Parton singing it with him. He eventually contacted her. After hearing the song, reading the lyrics she said yes she would be glad to record it with him.
According to Williams, Parton was looking for more faith-based projects when his team reached out regarding the song.
“We all knew it was a big ask and we were shooting for the moon to try to get her on the song,” Williams explained. “We originally heard that 90% of the stuff that comes her way, she turns down just because she has so many people asking to do songs with her.”
Williams recounted Parton telling him, the day she received the song, that she didn’t even make it through the first chorus, before she knew it was a special song and a “God-send.”
Have you been seeking those experiences? The 5 ways in short are 1. what makes you say “whoa”? 2. Think small. 3. It can happen on a screen, (nature, short lab videos, etc.) 4. Awe is a reset button and 5. Pay attention to goodness.
Our deathly ill neighbors have large flower boxes on either side of the front walk. Last spring, a healthy friend of theirs planted annual seeds in the boxes for them. Ginny has since passed away. I went clumping over in my orthotic boot one day and could not get through to the front door as the sidewalk was overgrown with flowers blooming and falling all over the place. Zinnias that were over 3 feet tall, sunflowers falling down, and under it all a riot of marigolds. I am still trying to offer meals to Chuck. Last Sunday I asked Bob to go with me bearing clippers and a bucket so we could cut back the jungle to get to the porch. We disturbed a parade of butterflies and bees. As I cut one stem I noticed a lovely bug. At first I called it a leaf hopper. (See opening photo) On closer inspection it was more likely one of the zillion kinds of grasshoppers. And as I marveled at its intricate body I realized I was holding my breath for a moment in awe. There it is!
From the bedroom window this morning I could tell the weather has finally changed with lower humidity, MUCH LOWER, and cooler temperatures. Then my eye was captured by the sunlight through the elephant ears. No rabbits lately, but this was indeed a delight. Breathe in the awe with me.
We attended church this morning with me in sandals, left one had top one strap entirely unfastened, no boot! Though the day held delightful weather our outdoor service was changed to indoor due to other issues. After being spread out in chairs under the towering oak trees in the parking lot there was an enhanced sense of intimacy once indoors. I was amazed how many people greeted me with well wishes for thorough healing. The arms of Christ were certainly all about me. The doctor had said he still wanted me to wear the boot in public. I admit I was a bit nervous with all those other feet around me, especially the children. I look forward to serving at the altar again as soon as I can climb the stairs.
What a glorious day of awe and wonder. Instead of rainstorms right now there are small, pure white, puffy clouds floating slowly past in an incredibly blue sky. Life is truly a wonder. The TIME article suggests taking a 15-minute “awe walk.” Just look at the world with fresh eyes, pay attention to the details around you, and engage your senses.” Slow down for the details and let awe capture you!
Consider the work of God; who can make straight what he has made crooked?
In the day of prosperity, be joyful, and in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that comes after them. Ecclesiastes 7:13-15 NRSVUE
I came across this poem set to music after reading Amy Carmichael’s chapter entitled Rose from Brier in her collected writings in the book by the same title. (Pages 51-53) I found it enchanting. The photography, also, especially the raindrops on the pavement! She heard this poem as “a little song that sang within me” as she longed to be at a welcoming service in the House of Prayer, but could not leave her bed.
Amy Carmichael Rose From Brier
She describes the sweetbrier of England in contrast to the roses of India. “I saw a little, low, very prickly bush in an old-fashioned English garden; it was covered with inconspicuous pink roses. But the wonder of the bush was its all-pervading fragrance, for it was a sweetbrier. And I saw one who has long been in the land where no thorns grow, cutting a spray from the bush, stripping the thorns off and giving it to me. May these for whom a rose from my brier may be caused to blow, those who do indeed walk the dear familiar ways of home, and road, and street, as unregarded as a breath of air, but there in love and longing, always there, find no pricking thorn on the stem of this rose from my brier.
“I think that when He whom our soul loveth comes so near to us, and so gently helps our human weakness, then what Madame Guyon wrote more than three hundred years ago becomes a present truth. We are borne over the oppression that would hold us down, we mount up on wings, we find a secret sweetness in our brier. But it is not of us. It’s Love that lifts us up. It is Love that is the sweetness.
“Is the one who reads this in a great weariness, or the exhaustion that follows a sore hurt, or in the terrible grasp of pain? He who loves as no one else can love understands to the uttermost, is not far away. He wants us to say, He can give it to us to say, “My Lord, my Love, I am content with Thee.”
Beautiful pink and yellow flower of dog-rose, sweet brier
In America we often call the same plant a Dog Rose. My neighbor has them in her backyard. I will have to experiment next spring to find out if the foliage is also fragrant as the internet reports!
I find the fragrance of Amy’s writings a gift to my soul.
I am delighted we have a new beginning every morning. I remember nursing my son and wondering when the first hour of each day occurred. You have to understand that he nursed every three hours around the clock. I had been taught that we should give the Lord the first hour of every day. In my exhaustion, I told the Lord I would gladly give Him the first hour if he would just tell me when my day ended and began!
Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.
PAULO COELHO
Pay attention to this miracle. This day. Right here.
So let me ask you something. When you pray do you listen for an answer? If you do not hear an answer right then, do you keep on listening? Do you persist in answering?
I have found that sometimes the answer comes over hours, sometimes over days, even weeks. We have been pondering what to do about our planned vacation to the beach in North Carolina scheduled for September with our now adult granddaughter. This was planned and reserved before the foot surgery occurred. So now the question is, “Will I be able to walk on the beach and look for seashells?” That is one of my favorite things to do.
So I have been praying for wisdom regarding the decision should we cancel the trip or not? The miracle? I feel as if I have been getting answers to the prayer. Many times the answer comes in the form of a question. That is so like my Jesus!
If I cannot or should not walk on the beach could I be content? Content to be at the ocean? Hear the ocean? Feel the thunder of the waves resounding in the air?
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3: 22-25 ESV
New answers every morning. New strength each day. Perhaps a new ability to embrace any limitation I may have come mid-September. Help us decide, Lord.
Joan sends a weekly e-newsletter. This one really spoke to me. She wrote about the Rule of St. Benedict.
In her recent newsletter she pointed out:
“The Rule gives us three criteria by which to assess our likelihood of ever being truly happy. Not simply satisfied, that is, but genuinely contented by life. Happy.
“First, if you have not attached your sense of self to having the best of everything, you won’t be crushed when you see someone with things that cost more than yours. You’ll be happy to have what you truly need.
“Second, if you don’t need to be the center of attention, you will be happy just to be part of a group of good people who do good things together. The thirst for attention is a toxic brew. If it comes—in athletics, in government, in public activities—you will be scrutinized. And if it doesn’t, you’ll be depressed.
“Third, if you don’t expect a constant deluge of praise, privilege, and preeminence, then not experiencing those things will not disturb you.
“The Rule is straightforward: If you do not depend on exemption, advantage, and personal prerogatives to measure your happiness, your success, your life will become its own reward. A walk by the lake at night will dilute all the pressures of the day. An appointment for supper with friends will be enough to get you up happy in the morning. Then whatever the turn of the social system around you, your love of life unadorned and unaffected will sustain you. from Radical Spirit: Twelve Ways to Live a Free and Authentic Life by Joan Chittister
If you have not read anything written by her, you might want to try. She is the author of 26 books.
Love of life unadorned and unaffected … quite a concept in contemporary America. I am giving it a try!
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 