God is love: let heaven adore him

God is love: let heaven adore him;
God is love: let earth rejoice;
let creation sing before him,
and exalt him with one voice.
He who laid the earth's foundation,
he who spread the heavens above,
he who breathes through all creation,
he is love eternal love.

God is love, and is enfolding
all the world in one embrace;
his unfailing grasp is holding
every child of every race;
and when human hearts are breaking
under sorrow's iron rod,
that same sorrow, that same aching
wrings with pain the heart of God,

God is love: and though with blindness
sin afflicts and clouds the will,
God's eternal loving-kindness
holds us fast and guides us still.
Sin and death and hell shall never
o'er us final triumph gain;
God is love, so Love for ever
o'er the universe must reign.

Timothy Rees (1874-1939) 

A beautiful song.

Hunger

I saw a robin as I walked the labyrinth
I paused to watch her
Hop hop hop hop pause
Hop hop hop hop pause
I continued
When one again I faced her direction
There she was
Hop hop hop hop pause
She was on a prayer walk
Or maybe just listening for food
Just like me.


4/25/15

A small green worm

A small green worm
hangs from a thin
line
slowly climbing to
the leaf
above
sometimes dropping
then climbing

Life is like that


5/25/15

Timeless

We line up at the water cooler
with our cups and nalgenes
just like the women of old
stood by the well with
their earthenware jugs

We're still thirsty.

6/15/15

No thanks

Please feel free to sit on our porch
said my across-the-street neighbor
While we're on vacation at the beach.

I looked at the lovely outdoor furniture
and the freshly painted floor
and posts and railing

Thanks, I said
and watched them leave their driveway
and head down the street toward Avalon

This morning I came out my door
for my morning coffee
and porch time ritual

I looked at my rusty chairs
my mosquito coil and candles
my peeling gray floor paint

I can not consider
leaving this shabby holy place
not even for one morning of luxury

I might miss something.

7/26/15

Precious Jewels

Amidst all the moaning and the tears and emotional ups and downs in the process of selling my house, I'm afraid I may have missed some of the treasures God has slipped into my pockets. The gifts that at the time seem to be just part of the process or maybe taken for granted. I'm reading Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor. She writes about finding a glittering stone in a dark cave, but when she got out into the light, the stone was quite ordinary--even common. But in the dark of her closet, it once again glittered like jewels. This story inspired me to pause and reflect on this somewhat dark time of selling my house.

Jewels I found in my pocket...

Meeting a young lady at a yard sale
is more precious that a for-sale sign

Loving my neighbors means more
than chipped paint or shiny floors

Sometimes a sister in law
is closer than a sister

The economy of a home sale is not a personal thing;
it's just part of the greed machine

A cup of coffee on my front porch
is still the best place to go deep

Memories with your children
are your dearest treasures

Giving away the old piano
brought me peace, and a new friend, joy

My old grill sitting on the sidewalk
was just what a passerby wanted

Packing up boxes of things formy children to open in the future
is worth my aching back and yards of packing tape

An unexpected container of beans and rice
in my fridge when I got home from work

Mr and Mrs cardinal chattering the reminder
that His eye is on the sparrow...and cardinal

FaceTime with Maggie always makes me yearn
for my new home

7/23-7/25/15

Tuesday morning phone call

These Tuesday-morning phone
calls to my dad
are bits of treasure
in my box
of precious things

His gruff early morning hello
followed by mundane details
of breakfast and the night before
always followed by
I love you

I carry this through the week
remembering his promise
to pray for me
until my phone dings
reminding me it's time to call him again


7/14/15

Boxes

I've been thinking about boxes.
Coworkers have been saving empty boxes
I bring them home to pack things up for moving.

Some are filled with things which leave my house
for other destinations
where other people will open them
and sort through the contents
maybe putting items up for sale

Other boxes are filled by my children
with things they want to store for future homes
of their own
Or things they want to take with them
to their apartments

Still other boxes are filled and carefully taped
and labelled--dishes, pictures, books--
and stacked on an ever-growing pile
to take with me to my new home
where I will open them
claiming my space with their contents

Meanwhile my house has emptied
and something inside me opens up
in this now uncluttered space
There is room to stretch and breathe
There is inspiration
and capacity for ideas and thoughts

I thought of Mary this morning
and all the moves she made--
Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazareth.
No boxes
No moving van
No yard sale
(True she had a donkey, not a car.)
But she carried her treasure in her arms
and in her heart.

If I should move again, God forbid,
I shall have fewer boxes.

7/30/15

Goodbye Front Porch

Goodbye front porch. 

You've been a true friend

Always there for me

(Except maybe in the winter

When the chairs and pillows

Are stored in the shed)

You've seen my tears

Of both joy and sadness 

And shared my smiles

Of contentment and peace

You accepted your role so graciously 

One of many in a row

Yet uniquely mine 

in early morning vigil

Always a breeze 

Even when the evening sun

Poured it's heat from the west

But mornings were always my favorite 

The birds song

The train whistle 

The sun playing shadows 

On the leaves of the tree in front of me

The people passing by

Children walking to school

Dog walkers with the required 

Plastic bag in hand

I felt the Holy Spirit here

I knew God's love

And gathered strength and courage 

I held my children close in my heart

And said their names in prayer

Oh I will miss you

I will indeed

But you have done your work

You've helped me face the next day

And the next

I pass you on to serve the new guests

May they find your gifts to be as rich

As I did

Goodbye porch 

7/22/15