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Posts tagged ‘Faith’

May 25

Open to So Much More

“As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to putting people and things in their “right” place.”― Henri J.M. Nouwen

“Humility was an offensive characteristic for a God, in the eyes of early non-Christians. How could Christians worship a God who deliberately chose to share in human birth with all its mess and vulnerability and limitation, as well as a shameful death? How can we now worship a God to whom all the unimportant little details of our lives actually matter? How can we respect a God who takes us more seriously than we take ourselves, and yet is not impressed with all our accomplishments? Who loves us equally well, whether we succeed or fail? How could it really be that God simply disregards not only our education, our tastes, our industry, our niceness, our worthiness in order to love us? God’s greatness we can begin to approach. The sheer humility of God’s love is incomprehensible.”― Roberta C. Bondi, To Love as God Loves: Conversations with the Early Church

Open hands.
Soft heart.
Generous spirit.
Listening to understand.
Loving rather than judging.
Humility to yield to the incomprehensible.
Blinders off.
Out of our own way.
Entering unknowing, mystery, unfolding.
Awash with amazement.
No need for explanation.
Trust. Faith. Hope.
To put it all down.
And be filled up.
Anew.
Beauty. Light. Fresh bloom.
Open hands.
Grateful soul.

“Dear God,

I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!
Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?
Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?
Please help me to gradually open my hands
and to discover that I am not what I own,
but what you want to give me.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life

Apr 21

Filled and Overflowing

“You may do this, I tell you, it is permitted. Begin again the story of your life.”― Jane Hirshfield, The Lives of the Heart

“Empty and filled,
like the curling half-light of morning,
in which everything is still possible and so why not.

Filled and empty,
like the curling half-light of evening,
in which everything now is finished and so why not.

Beloved, what can be, what was,
will be taken from us.
I have disappointed.
I am sorry. I knew no better.

A root seeks water.
Tenderness only breaks open the earth.
This morning, out the window,
the deer stood like a blessing, then vanished.”― Jane Hirshfield

New beginnings
Fresh starts
Emptied to filled, overflowing
Hope, joy, delight
Color, fragrance, beauty
Borne of winter spilling fully into spring
Tenderness breaking open and through
New beginnings

“One breath taken completely; one poem, fully written, fully read – in such a moment, anything can happen.”― Jane Hirshfield, Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry

Apr 18

Heavy Love

“Gimme hate, Lord,” he whimpered. “I’ll take hate any day. But don’t give me love. I can’t take no more love, Lord. I can’t carry it…It’s too heavy. Jesus, you know, you know all about it. Ain’t it heavy? Jesus? Ain’t love heavy?”― Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

“Hate can be helpful to certain causes. It unites a group quickly, it gives a person identity—even if it is a negative one—and, most of all, it takes away doubt and all free-floating anxiety. It gives us a place to stand that feels superior and in control. Hate settles the dust and ambiguity that none of us like. Hate is much more common, and more immediately effective, than love. Hate, as we will sadly see below, makes the world go ’round.”― Richard Rohr, The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder

Fear
Anger
Hate

Denied
Abandoned
Emptied

Love poured out
Overflowing to this very day
For all and each, not only some

Companion who says “I know”
Death defeated by love
Heavy heavy love

“But simple as the Sign of the Cross is, it carries a brave weight: it names the Trinity, celebrates the Creator, and brings home all the power of faith to the brush of fingers on skin and bone and belly. So do we, sometimes well and sometimes ill, labor to bring home our belief in God’s love to the stuff of our daily lives, the skin and bone of this world — and the Sign of the Cross helps us to remember that we have a Companion on the road.”― Brian Doyle, Credo

Apr 15

Transitions to Transformations, Spring Unfolding

“Healthy religion gives us a foundational sense of awe. It re-enchants an otherwise empty universe. It gives people a universal reverence toward all things. Only with such reverence do we find confidence and coherence. Only then does the world become a safe home. Then we can see the reflection of the divine image in the human, in the animal, in the entire natural world—which has now become inherently “supernatural.” That is the paradox, and all dualistic language will henceforth fail us.”― Richard Rohr OFM, The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”― George Eliot

Still dry and brown
But glimpses of what is to come
Buds, dots of green popping up
Growth surfacing
Proof of what is to come but not here yet
Pre-game of spring with winter cool still lingering in the air
Soft rain
Longer sun
Patches of color
Hallway between winter and spring
Lent and Easter
Before and after
Waiting, walking slowly to notice, signs of life
Closing in on the threshold to cross over
Transitions to transformations
Spring unfolding
Inviting us to do the same.

“Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.”— Rumi

Apr 2

Hope Beams

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” – Michelle Obama

Beautiful, tangible, tough, gritty hope.
Fight the good fight.
Stay the course.
Stick the landing.
Keep going.
Light breaks through.
Spring never skips its turn.

“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” – Barbara Kingsolver

Mar 20

Wearing through Stone

“[Poetry] is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”― Adrienne Rich, What is Found There: Notebooks on Poetry and Politics

“Love is not primarily a relationship to a specific person; it is an attitude, an orientation of character which determines the relatedness of a person to the world as a whole, not toward one “object” of love. If a person loves only one other person and is indifferent to the rest of his fellow men, his love is not love but a symbiotic attachment, or an enlarged egotism. Yet, most people believe that love is constituted by the object, not by the faculty.”― Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving

Not soft or fluffy
Naïve or ignorant
Rather tough, gritty, hard, work, impossible
The question and the answer
The only plan, strategy, resistance, meaningful action, what moves the needle
Overcomes, confronts, carries, challenges, pushes, pulls, turns upside down, transforms
A posture to take
A daily discipline
A decision to make again and again
Unfolding, deepening, surprising
Overflowing, abundant, refreshing
Poetry in motion
Love

“Love isn’t something natural. Rather it requires discipline, concentration, patience, faith, and the overcoming of narcissism. It isn’t a feeling, it is a practice.”― Fromm, Eric, The Art of Loving

Mar 12

2 Comments

Anchor of Hope

“All of us experience, to a greater or lesser extent, a loneliness that results from not having enough anchors, enough absolutes, and enough permanent roots to make us feel secure and stable in a world characterized by transience.”― Ronald Rolheiser, The Restless Heart

Blessing when you need a little hope

“These days feel heavy and dark,
like hope packed up and left,
and forgot to send a postcard.
We cry: Where are the good things?
And honestly, where are the good people—
the sensible ones
fighting for what matters?
Why does it feel like bad stuff
always elbows its way to the front,
pushing everything good to the sidelines?
We’re tired. Exhausted, really.
Desperation is knocking,
and it’s tempting to surrender.

Blessed are you,
who see the world as it is:
the sickness and loneliness,
the injustice that never seems to end,
the greed and misuse of power,
the violence and intimidation,
the mockery of truth,
and disdain for weakness,
and worse—
the seeming powerlessness
of anyone trying to stop it.

Blessed are you,
worn down by hard-earned cynicism,
running on fumes,
with no promise of a destination.

Maybe hope isn’t so distant.
Maybe it’s there—small, persistent, and stubborn.
May you grasp something
in the heaviness.
A glimmer of what could be,
and walk, step by step,
toward the possibility that goodness exists.
Hope is an anchor dropped into the future
pulling you forward,
toward something better—
even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.”

– Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

In 1999, I found out I had melanoma on Ash Wednesday
And by Easter, all clear
Some don’t get that short a trip through cancer or other diagnosis, but I did
Lent had an even deeper meaning that year
Journeys we don’t choose but choose us
Some of our struggles are chronic
Some are broken or frayed relationships
Some loneliness
The grief, and growth if we allow, from all of the deaths before death
The alignment of Lent and the world right now
Again, not unnoticed
How the hell did we get here?
What is underneath all of this?
Where will I/we end up?
Will the struggle end?
What should I do?
Good questions with answers that so often only unfold only by walking out it out
Spring, Resurrection comes only by going through winter, the ashes, the desert
Not the pep talk most want to hear
We frantically look for short cuts, hacks, others to blame
Whatever journey you are on, one step, one day at a time
Lent’s invitation is one of pause
Reflection
Slowing
Withdraw
Quiet
Rest
Wandering
Listening
Shedding
Forgiving
Rending
Healing
Discernment, direction, clarity down the road
40 days in the desert, feeling like years
No shortcuts but brimming with small, persistent, stubborn hope
An anchor dropped into the future pulling us forward
Easter coming, walk it out.

“Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery”― Anne Frank

Mar 10

The Gardener’s Work

“We mature by meeting life, just as God and nature designed it, and accepting there the invitations that beckon us ever deeper into the heart of life itself.”― Ronald Rolheiser, Sacred Fire

The Gardener by Mary Oliver

“Have I lived enough?
Have I loved enough?
Have I considered Right Action enough, have I come to any conclusions?
Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?
Have I endured loneliness with grace?

I say this, or perhaps I’m just thinking it.
Actually, I probably think too much.

Then I step out into the garden,
where the gardener, who is said to be a simple man,
is tending his children, the roses.”

Live
Love
Right Action
Gratitude
Grace
Till, plant, water, wait, trust, rest, hope.
Winter creates the runway.
Spring always lands.
The Gardener of all seasons ever-present.
Tending.

“True restfulness, though, is a form of awareness, a way of being in life. It is living ordinary life with a sense of ease, gratitude, appreciation, peace and prayer. We are restful when ordinary life is enough.”― Ronald Rolheiser, The Shattered Lantern: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God

Mar 7

Woven into Each Day, Love

“The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.” – Bennet Cerf

“Remember Me:
To the living, I am gone.
To the sorrowful, I will never return.
To the angry, I was cheated,
But to the happy, I am at peace,
And to the faithful, I have never left.
I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.
So as you stand upon a shore, gazing at a beautiful sea – remember me.
As you look in awe at a mighty forest and its grand majesty – remember me.
As you look upon a flower and admire its simplicity – remember me.
Remember me in your heart, your thoughts, your memories of the times we loved,
the times we cried, the times we fought, the times we laughed.
For if you always think of me, I will never be gone.” – Margaret Mead

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”― William W. Purkey

Two years ago today, Mom passed.
Not a day goes by that I/we don’t miss and think of her, and smile.
Dad, coming up on 9 years in April.
From loss, to grief, to laughter and sweet memories.
And then back through it all again in different ways.
The shape and substance of love.
Time goes slow, then fast.
Really fast.
Befores and afters.
No do-overs.
Know what’s important and put your time and attention there
Faith, family, friends, humanity.
Be kind, patient, listen, generous, forgive, forget, remember, grateful, be present this day.
Invite awe, fun, wonder, joy, laughter, light in and cast it back out.
Love well.
The only act that truly changes the world and gives meaning and purpose to our days.

“Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.” – Plato

Mar 5

Lent Invitation, No One Excluded

“We must believe that the stone will be rolled back, and we must be ready to poke out our timid heads, take off the linen bindings of death, and walk free for a time, breathing resurrection air.” – Ronald Rolheiser.

“Joy and sorrow. Love and loss. Big wins and even bigger failures. We cling tightly to the beautiful moments, but then the phone rings, a diagnosis drops, or some creeping ache reminds us that everything—everything—is so much more fragile than we’d like to admit. Life can be too much. And Lent is the season where we sit in that heaviness. For 40 days, we stop pretending things will suddenly get better and face the truth: life is fragile, and so are we.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, when we hear the words no one really wants to say out loud: you are dust, and to dust you shall return. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you’d embroider on a pillow, but it’s a truth we need. Lent invites us to stop pretending we can hold it all together and instead sit with the weight of what we carry—the grief, the regrets, the messes we can’t untangle, no matter how much we try.” – Kate Bowler

Lent is my favorite season
Winter to spring
Desert to oasis
No glitter, fluff, the real stuff of life
Honest, fueled with meaning and purpose in the waiting
Overflowing with hope on the journey, twists and turns too
Resurrection at the end of the journey, always
No shortcuts, so worth the trip
No one “owns” Lent so dare to take the journey
God has been diminished, defined, limited, and boxed by many
God is here for each one of us and loves us like there’s only one of us
So much bigger than our small minds can comprehend and imagine
Kate Bowler has a wonderful devotional guide on Lent –https://katebowler.com/seasonal_devotional/the-hardest-part/

Stone rolling and resurrection air ahead.

“This is the moment
we ask for the blessing
that lives within
the ancient ashes,
that makes its home
inside the soil of
this sacred earth.

So let us be marked
not for sorrow.
And let us be marked
not for shame.
Let us be marked
not for false humility
or for thinking
we are less
than we are

but for claiming
what God can do
within the dust,
within the dirt,
within the stuff
of which the world
is made,
and the stars that blaze
in our bones,
and the galaxies that spiral
inside the smudge
we bear.” – Jan Richardson

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