Awe and Wonder
November 2021
Last fall standing under a Vee of geese
Honking Journey
when we could not journey
I remembered other places other times
Same God
whatever the season
Still sheltering in the shadow of Wings.
GLORY BE TO GOD!
Right Now
Today is the first of the rest of my days.
God help me to live it well.
May I not dwell on the past, success or failure
May I not wonder about the future, where will and what if.
Still my heart. Give me peace.
A holy contentment with right now and gratitude for the gift of the present.
So be it. Amen and Amen.
Nightsky
I wander the house
dark, dazed and starstruck
Each window pane ablaze, I
feel my way up stairs,
along walls, through doors
stumbling into chairs.
I gaze at Nightsky.
Framed, original and signed.
Poppies
The back garden poppies
Explode with color
Outrageous orange
And purple
Created by an Artist
with a playful sense of color
Still
The Spirit gently blows through
bending my will
with the yellow flowers
on the hill.
Leaving the core of me
peaceful
still.
At St. Gertrude’s Monastery in Cottonwood, Idaho
Lectio Divina (Romans 8:26)
Come Holy Spirit
Sigh my heart’s desire
Words are not enough
to shape the ache
or fuel the fire.
Faithfulness
Walking across the field
of God’s faithfulness
it’s hard to believe I ever doubted.
And yet, by his love and great mercy
He has brought me to this spacious place where I can truly say
God delights in me.
Pink Rose, Green Frog
The pink sweet smelling rose is back
Blooming where weeks ago
only a bunch of dry twigs stood.
It reminds me of the that summer
I picked blooms from that same bush
And took them inside to show my parents.
I remember their delight
As tree frogs jumped out of the petals
And I scrambled to catch them.
Mom, Dad
Oh I wish you could be here now.
I would trade all the roses and tree frogs
And even the deer,
If only. . .
But at least I can smell the pink rose
and remember.
The Deer in the Garden
This is the first birthday
Without a card from
my mother.
But she sent a deer instead.
It jumped over the back garden fence
and was grazing near the pink rose.
And when I looked out
it raised its head
and said
Happy Birthday, Dear.
From your mother and dad.
All Through the Night
In the pale light of a sliver moon we walk out into the night
Sssh. Be very quiet.
Listen to the sounds floating through the air like angels wings.
The swoosh of the night birds, the distant call of owls, the sighing of the wind in the aspen trees.
Waves lap at the rocky shore.
Slap! The sounds of seal flippers echo across the water.
Look very closely at the inky deep.
You might catch a swift green glow, a shimmer of mystery.
God’s hands never sleep.
All through the night they spread out the velvet sky, hold the stars in place and fold the creatures to earth.
Hush. The mother fox and kits snuggle in their fur-warm den.
The deer have crossed the open field and lie in thicket beds at woods’ edge.
Opossum babies cling to their mother in the crook of a tree while moles scurry underground through long winding tunnels.
Raccoons fill their den with heat.
And the little brown bat – where is the little brown bat we saw last summer?
He is high in his sky-dry cave dreaming of midges and mosquitoes.
We don’t see these creatures now but we know they are here, all around us in the humming night.
Look up. See the designs of God’s hands.
The Bear, Orion, the Pleiades.
Trace the constellations with your fingers, the way we do on the star maps.
See how the tall cottonwoods wear stars in their bare branches, fancy in the dancing black night.
Now open your arms wide and feel how big, how marvelous, the sky’s darkness.
How vast the distance of planets and stars.
Take a deep breath and look and look and look.
Are you dizzy with the looking?
Do you feel tiny under the great celestial roof of the earth?
Yes, we are small but never alone, and dressed in glory like the stars.
All our names are known.
In the darkness under the blanket of the night sky we, all creatures, great and small, slip softly into shelter, sing sweetly into sleep.
Praise God all through the night.
Night Gift
Five weeks ago, I had colon surgery. While the surgery went well, I was very troubled during the overnight stay at the hospital. As I remember it, I was restless–I could not sleep or get comfortable. I frequently pushed the call button for the nurse or nursing assistant. I kept thinking I was having a bad drug reaction. Finally, one of the nurses told me to listen to some music.
That reminded me of my Lectio 365 app on my phone. That evening of May 19th the Night Prayer of the church was from Bishop Augustine of Hippo.
What a gift it was to hear those words in the darkness, amid my anxiety. I didn’t fall into a peaceful sleep, but I did feel God’s love and comfort in a tangible way.
Watch, O Lord
With those who wake
Or watch or weep tonight
And give your angels charge
Over those who sleep.
Tend your sick ones,
O Lord Jesus Christ.
Rest your weary ones.
Bless your dying ones
Soothe your suffering ones.
Pity your afflicted ones
Shield your joyous ones.
And all for your love’s sake.
2020 Christmas Letter
Baby Linnea gets
hearing aids at three months
but bird song is out of range.
Then on her first birthday
Cochlear implants are put into both ears.
Imagine our joy when on a video
we see her turn her head
in the direction of bird song.
Holy Turning
Holy Bird Song
Glory to God in the highest!
2014 Christmas Letter
The cutting of vegetables
has become like spiritual practice to me.
I peel and chop and feast my eyes on
carrots, red pepper and beans.
I am dazzled by the richness of
oranges, greens and pomegranates.
I lift up my favorite little serrated knife in praise.
The sun streams in through my winter windows,
blessing the mess of my kitchen heart.
And joy creeps in.
Wishing you God’s light and love in quiet moments.
2013 Christmas Letter
Called to Be
It’s okay to sit and watch light move
across the water
To listen to insistent cries of Blue jays.
To feel my heart move in the
peaceful passing of the hours
without a plan or sense of urgency
without defense.
It is okay to sit and be.
Wishing you eyes to see
and a heart to hold the glory of God
and ears to hear the singing and sorrows
of the world.
God be with you on your journeys and
resting places of the New Year.
Psalm of the Orphan
My father has died
My mother has died
But you, O God, are my father.
You are my mother.
My father and mother have known me
all the days of my life.
How will I live without their faithful presence
in my life?
How will I go on without their love?
But you, O God, knew me before I was born.
Surely you will comfort me.
When I am like a lonely chlld
crying for my father and mother,
be to me a present father, a loving mother.
You who know me better than I know myself
will not forsake me.
Glory be to you Father, Mother God.
For your loving arms surround me.
Your faithfulness sustains me.
Let me sing your praise to my children’s children.
In memory of Bill White died February 19, 2014
and Eva White died June 14, 2014
