Good morning…
Tonight’s full moon lights the dignity of the dying roses centered on our kitchen table. I sift through yesterday’s ashes to give breath to eternal embers.
First my waking heart wrote these words on my blank journal page.
Is it enough to root and bloom, to thrive and share love, to live daily life the best way I know how, before my breathless body turns to ash and my spirit returns to the God who gave it? Soon there will be no physical evidence that I was here at all, except for the eternal love of God rippling on through me forever.
Next I read this meditation, emailed by the Henri Nouwen Society who keeps alive the wisdom of this beloved priest and professor, writer and theologian. Nouwen’s earthly lifespan stretched from January 24, 1932 to September 21, 1996, yet his powerful impact lives on and on with so many of us every day.
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DAILY MEDITATION | SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 Choosing How to Live Death by Henri Nouwen
You and I have to trust that our short little lives can bear fruit far beyond the boundaries of our chronologies. But we have to choose this and trust deeply that we have a spirit to send that will bring joy, peace, and life to those who will remember us. Francis of Assisi died in 1226, but he is still very much alive! His death was a true gift, and today, nearly eight centuries later, he continues to fill his brothers and sisters, within and without the Franciscan orders, with great energy and life. He died, but never died. His spirit keeps descending upon us. More than ever I am convinced that death can, indeed, be chosen as our final gift of life.
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Then, around dinner time, a friend texted me this vibrant remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II, who quietly passed away at age 96. How might her unique influence live on throughout eternity?
Finally before bed, I soaked in these words from the first week of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, who died on July 31, 1556 at the age of 65.
“We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth of poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential for calling forth in us a more loving response to our life forever with God. Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening life in me.”
For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity] (Philippians 1:21, AMP).
Tonight’s full moon lights the dignity of the dying roses centered on our kitchen table. I sift through yesterday’s ashes to give breath to eternal embers.
…Sue…
P.S. Now, in the middle of the night, I return to the encouraging quote sent by talented co-author and friend Kitty Crenshaw. Though our beloved spiritual mentor died last August, Kitty keeps the life of Christian mystic Betty Skinner alive through her weekly posts and gorgeous website, TheHiddenLifeAwakened.com. Betty died, but didn’t die. Her spirit keeps descending upon us.
