A New Year

On this day before the eve of the new year I find myself reflecting on letting go of the old to make room for the new. I’m in the process of doing that with my house....changing the living and dining rooms into an art studio....getting rid of unneeded furniture and clutter to make room for new shelving, tables and easels.  Another new beginning and I’m excited about it!

I was thinking last night about how hard it is to let go of things we’ve come to feel are important but really are not. I actually held out my hand and said, “Take this, God.  Please take this from me.”  I wondered about my using the word “take”. Why couldn't I just give it freely?   How hard it is to let go of some things!  I think a lot of it....for me, at least....is the fear of the unknown.  Letting go completely sometimes feels like closing my eyes and jumping off a cliff.  The thing is, when I do that, I discover how wonderful it is to fly.  I love the flying but am afraid of the jumping.

As these thoughts were going through my mind I was reminded of a poem I wrote a few years ago: 

Making Room *

I’ve a box within my heart
full of things I’ve kept.
Some have caused me sorrow,
over most, I’ve wept.

I’ve kept it safe and hidden,
away from prying eyes.
Its lid, I would not open.
Its contents, I’d disguise.

The Lord came by one fateful day
and offered me a gift.
“Put it in your box”, He said,
“It’s something you have missed.”

“I can’t” I cried, “there isn’t room
for one more thing, I fear.”
In frustration, I did weep
one great and lonely tear.

He gently wiped it from my cheek
and held me in His arms.
“I’ll help you clean it out” he said.
“You’ll come to no more harm.”

“Do you need those things?” He gently asked
“You’ve hoarded through the years?
Or are they just the weapons
you used to battle fears?”

In faith, I went to get my box
and dumped it at His feet.
“Look at all you’ve saved,” He said
“You have no need of these.”

Very gently, He lifted one
It was sorrow and despair.
“You don’t need these,” He said
“Get them out of there!”

“All these things you have”, He sighed,
“the guilt, the pride, the greed.
Throw them out - get rid of them.
They aren’t the things you need.”

As we cleaned and threw things out,
the fears within me grew.
What would I do without my things?
Could I manage to get through?

“Have faith” He said to me,
“for you, I know what’s best.
Trust is me and me alone.
Get rid of all the rest.”

And so I tried to dump it all,
( but I held back a few)
things I could not part with.
He smiled at me.  He knew.

My box is nearly empty
(except for those few things)
I hope that I am ready
for all the gifts He brings.

If there’s not room for all He gives,
I pray I have the will
to throw those few things out
I carry with me still.

My prayer for all is that we may be able to “let go” of all that weighs us down and keeps us from being truly happy.  May this new year be a wonderful new beginning for each of us as we continue to walk with God in the Light.  God Bless!

* The Journey

(continued) One Little Candle

One Little Candle

I am one little candle,
   one small light.
How can I hope
   to pierce the night?

What can I do
   with one small light;
to ease the pain,
   relieve the plight,

of those who
   lost sight
of their own
   small light?

We’re each a candle,
    flame burning bright.
Together, our prayers
   will banish the night,

Rekindle the hope,
   Restore the Light.

                          12/24/2016

Lighting the Candle

This is the day before Christmas.... the day we spend rushing around with last minute preparations for the “Big Day”.  This is the day we look forward to the coming of eve when our hearts and minds are centered on Jesus’ birth. 

Tonight there will be the lighting of candles as we Christians join together in celebrating the coming of “the Light of the world”.  This evening, too, our Jewish brothers and sisters light the first candle of the Festival of Lights....Chanukah.  I find it powerfully symbolic that this year when the world is so much in need of light, we join together in prayer ...prayer illuminated by the flame of a candle.  That flame is shared by millions of people lighting candles in every corner of the world. 

This Christmas eve, this Chanukah, unites us all.  Tonight we rekindle the flame of hope as we join in prayer with those persecuted, the poor, the immigrant, the lonely, the lost, the homeless.  We join with those who fight for our freedoms and to protect our earth.

So tonight when I light my little candle, its tiny flame will carry my prayer and unite it with the prayers of every other lighted candle.  Through that flame I join with you and all my brothers and sisters throughout the world, regardless of nationality or religion.  Tonight our human family becomes one....as it should always be.

Merry Christmas to you all!  May the light of hope, joy and peace always burn within!  God bless!

One with Mom

Mom and I didn’t talk about God very much but we didn’t seem to need to.  We both had an inner sense of the other’s relationship with God....one which went beyond and had no need for the expression of words.  In fact, I believe Mom and I often communicated more deeply in the shared silence than in conversation.  While she was in Hospice, in a comatose state, we continued to share that non-verbal, spiritual connection.

I sat by you and held your limp, non-responsive hand in mine.  I don’t know if you were aware of my touch but I needed yours.  As I caressed your hand, trying to communicate the love in my heart, my attention was drawn to the tree outside the window.  There I saw an uppermost branch gently moving in the breeze as if it was waving at me.

Tears came to my eyes and a lump formed in my throat as I realized your spirit wasn’t trapped in this unresponsive body I was holding onto so tightly, but was free.  I couldn’t help but smile, as true to form, you mischievously joined with the breeze and moved only the one branch.

“See,” you said to me, “I am one with the wind, with the sun, with the trees.  I am alive within all of Creation.

I am the river,
     the lake and the sea.
In the warmth of the sun,
     the cooling breeze.

With the birds,
     you hear me sing.
I bloom with the flowers
     in the Spring.

Be still and listen.
     I am there.
In the love that fills your soul
     I am there
        with God.”

Living Water

“...But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never become thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become a well of water for him, springing up to eternal life."  (John 4:14 )

 “...Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'" (John 7:38)

“Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here...” says the Samaritan woman

So what is this water?  It’s a question I’ve asked myself numerous times and heard it spoken of in many sermons, but I never really came to know what Jesus was referring to until recently.  I’ve discovered that no matter how sad I am, or how I am suffering, there is always joy within me.  Oh, I sometimes cover it up as I fall into the pit of sadness or self-pity but I know it’s always there and it has a way of always finding its way to the surface.

I was describing it to someone the other day and he tried to tell me that joy is fleeting. “You can’t be joyful all the time.”

 I had to disagree.  “It’s not the joy that’s fleeting.” I tried to explain.  “To be joyful  isn’t the same thing as being happy, though happiness is a byproduct of joy.   It’s the happiness which doesn’t last.  But the spring of joy within ourselves is always there, bubbling up from the bedrock of love... which is God.  There are times too,” I told him, “when the joy bubbles up with such force it has to be expressed in an outpouring of love and praise.  It can't be contained.” 

I don’t know if he ‘heard’ me but that conversation is the reason for my writing this blog and it’s something I’ve mentioned before in my blog, “Joy and Sadness”.  I’ve entertained the idea of painting how I see the living water of joy within myself and thought instead, I’d share it with you here in a “painting of words". 

As I see the image of an ever flowing, bubbling spring within me, I think of Moses striking the rock and water  gushing out so the people may drink.  (Exodus 17:6)  The joy bubbles up from the rock of God’s love as a fountain.  Sometimes the bubbling water can only rise a short distance as I haven't opened the rock enough to let it through. (I’m not loving enough).  Other times, when I am filled with the love of God, the bedrock within opens wider and  the water of joy bubbles up with such force it’s beyond containing.  It must be released and shared. 

When we are firm in the knowledge of  God’s presence within ourselves and God’s everlasting, unconditional love for us, we will recognize and experience the living water of joy and never be “thirsty” again! 

All we have to do is tap the rock of God’s love and it will come gushing forth. 

May we always know joy!