Good morning…
Collaging my journal at our With God Weather Life retreat, I cut from a magazine this poignant poem and pasted it on the inner flap of my journal’s front cover. These words hold up for us a meaningful mirror as we examine our hearts this first day of December.
******
Morning Chores by Joann Nesser
I pick up a dish, a cup,
straighten the pillows on the sofa
where my husband dozes
when we watch TV.
It’s the little things:
I water my plants, wash some grapes,
wipe a spot on the kitchen counter,
empty the dishwasher.
I’m preparing for another day.
This is the twilight time
between sleeping and waking.
I float
from one task to another,
touching and caring
for the home
I love.
It is a meditation
as my mind is suspended
and my heart open –
a kind of Rosary of my home.
******
Someone needs to pick up the dish, the cup, the pillows. Someone must water the plants and wash the grapes, clean the counter and empty the dishwasher. Today, will that “someone” be my relaxed, peaceful true self in union with God, floating and touching, caring and meditating? Or will that “someone” be my angry, anxious false self disconnected from God, my heart closed to the privilege of praying each morning chore?
First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too (Matthew 23:26b, NLT).
…Sue…
