Grieving A Soulmate
Good morning... "Dear Sue, I hope you are doing well," she emailed after yesterday's post, The Blessing Hidden In Grief. "I miss our walks but returning to my position at school fills my days. My students are wonderful. Teaching them fills my heart with joy, and I’m so grateful for this bridge to whatever comes next in my life." "Yes, that’s right," she said. "I don’t know what happens next and I’m okay [...]
The Blessing Hidden In Grief
Good morning... "Now with the Awake To Wholeness retreat behind us, might we celebrate your birthday season?" I texted a friend. (As I reflect, I realize that "behind" is the wrong word. It is more accurate to say, "Now with the retreat inside us, might we celebrate?") "And . . . I thoroughly enjoyed retelling the Saturday experience to several friends yesterday," another friend wrote. "It keeps giving!" "Then . . . Henri [...]
Steve And The Jordan River
Good morning... "Every time our ordinary life bumps up against an unavoidable loss, there are choices to be made," concluded our blog post yesterday morning, Our Passage To New Life. "Will we allow the loss we are currently facing to be a passage to something new, something wider, something deeper? Like the Israelites following God's lead out of controlling captivity to the abundance of the Promised Land, how might the passage at hand [...]
Our Passage To New Life
Good morning... I chuckle to myself as I read Henri Nouwen's meditation for today. Was the eternal presence of Henri eavesdropping in the chapel at our Awake To Wholeness Women's Retreat with the eternal presence of Betty Skinner on Saturday? Henri's words for today sum up exactly what God was teaching us on our sacred day of retreat. ****** DAILY MEDITATION | NOVEMBER 9, 2021 - Passages to New Life by Henri Nouwen [...]
Unwrapping Great Gifts
Good morning... Looking back over our weekend, so many multifaceted gifts were unwrapped at our Awake To Wholeness Women's Retreat. Musical meditations. Wise "Aha!" moments. For some of us, tenderizing tears. One tiny tangible gift was tied inside each napkin given with our yummy boxed lunches. A young girl from the church had hand-painted for each participant a bookmark with a unique saying from our guiding book, The Hidden Life Awakened by Kitty [...]
Stir Up God’s Gifts
Good morning... I brew a twelve cup pot of coffee before our house guests stir and marvel in amazement at the gifts God stirred up in us. "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you," says our central Scripture from yesterday's Awake To Wholeness Women's Retreat. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind" (2 [...]
Our Rescheduled Retreat
Good morning... Today we are crossing the finish line of the marathon we began in 2019. Our planning for the Awake To Wholeness Women's Retreat scheduled for March 28th, 2020 ended as COVID forced us instead to shelter in place. Our rescheduled retreat day is today. Please join us in any way the Spirit might lead. ****** Awaken to Wholeness Women’s Retreat Saturday, November 6, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm, Livestream In this special [...]
Life Is Messy
Good morning... "I am completely convinced that God is a fan of life's messy," I found myself texting a friend yesterday. "Think childbirth. Think artist's studio. Think crucifixion. We are the ones who crave neat, straight, controllable order." In the middle of the night my mind wanders to add to my list. Might God be in all of these messy places? Politics. Gardening. Baking with children. Finances. Opposing opinions. The floor of a [...]
You Belong Here
Good morning... In cleaning our home to welcome our guests later this afternoon, I ran across a book I had totally forgotten about. Underlined. Highlighted. Circled and starred. A few years back I devoured each page during my two year training to become a spiritual director. Guided by the Spirit, I am now drawn to dog-eared page number ninety-eight to feast again on fresh, enduring wisdom. ****** Excerpt from Hearing God: Developing A [...]
Living The Dream
Good morning... I just woke from a short, silly dream. In my dream, I was driving a familiar road I travel most days. Slowly, meandering, half alert. Then a policeman pulled up behind me and pressed his siren twice, "beeeeep, beeeeep." I pulled over to the side of the road, interestingly at peace. Rolling down my window, I heard the officer say, "Mama, I pulled you over because your license plate registration sticker [...]
Unpacking My Bag
Good morning... I nestle into my quiet time spot, a mug of coffee beside me, to unpack my bag from last night's "Day of the Dead" party. Annually, a group of about twenty of us gather on November 1st at a mutual friend's home. In her living room we set up small altars with candles, photos, and symbols of loved ones who have stepped over from earth to heaven. Last year we could [...]
Become The True You
Good morning... "Makes me think of many of our conversations on Friday mornings❤️," she emailed me yesterday. She included the devotional thoughts below, shared this week by Richard Rohr. ****** Friday, October 29, 2021 Week Forty-Three: Original Goodness by Richard Rohr Being “God’s Somebody” Everybody is God’s somebody. —Bishop Michael Curry, Love Is the Way Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry, with whom Fr. Richard has worked on several occasions, shares how knowing we are [...]