I am grateful

I am grateful for the one that I love, who reminds me that forgiveness is real and also that I can truly be myself! I am living into this grace.

A Prayer

Inevitable. Baby-steps. Wondering. Imagining: All leading towards a fear of regret? God, how can the choices in our lives fill us with a sense of life and wonder, so that we can walk in peace? How can we hold each other during our choice-making, comforting and catalyzing... so that we dare to make the choices that bring out our deepest, truest truth?

These words have been floating in the back of my mind over the last few days, as I continue to find myself awash in choice-making and wondering which way to turn. I am writing a theological reflection about conflict as quotidian and therein I establish this point: That conflict is not something to be feared as it is often part of the process towards something greater and may, in fact, enable us to reach a more prayerful and communal goal or hope?

This day I ponder the choices of the week and I wonder how I can continue to live life as I always dreamed... God, in your grace.

Thinking about Lilies

Mary Oliver has a lovely poem in which she uses this phrase, thinking about lilies, and yet that is not why I am writing this post. I write this post instead to announce a new part of my blog called "Stories: Lil Epiphanies." Here will be a place where I will work on nurturing and crafting little epiphanies in process, stories that are in the midst of creation. Suffice it to say, this blog author has been inspired to do something that she should have began awhile ago... Amen.

Life Exploring

I am at the pinnacle of something important, breathing words of reverence, of honesty, of self-care and challenge. I long to enter the song of soulfulness and there reveal the timbre of the drone, playing underneath it all...

Wonder

I am struck by the wonder of raw emotion-- when we uncover deep truth in the performance of rite. Sitting as a participant and member at Erin's wedding today, I was reminded of this very fact: of the gentle, marvelous beauty of love.... of knowing another person so deeply that you are willing to let your soul be known... In all the many defenses that we have in this society--- resorting to the games of busyness, blame, and bureaucacy-- still there remains, in spite of the noise and voices offering otherwise, the deep knowingness that all one truly desires is to be loved. OH, to feel such love! Wonder.

Listening...

A few times this past week, my heart showed up--- echoing its longing and speaking its mighty language-- and I had to listen. Stop. Pause. And this is so important. As I am in this time called "seminary formation," I find it so easy to revert into one of the many habitual patterns of ministry and attend to all the needs of those around me.... but in doing so, it can be a never-ending fountain, and sometimes all one truly desires is to give simply-- Just give. And know that this giving is enough. Receiving is also important. It is so important. And in as far as it is possible to express this unselfishly, I desire to have the opportunity to do more receiving the next months... this Advent... and therein discover the gift to which I have been called. But now, it is time to listen!

Wisdom

If I want to learn about wisdom, I feel like I had better take the time to walk in another's shoes for awhile-- I would prefer to follow the footsteps of a 80 year-old man. That is one thing I have discovered today.