Engraved inside my wedding ring is the date "May 28, 1977."
On the cover of the program from our wedding (framed and sitting on the bookshelf in my office) are words from Song of Songs. "My beloved spoke and said to me, 'Rise up my love and come away. The winter is past. The rain is over. Flowers appear on the earth. My love belongs to me and I to him.'"
And from my book, my words when thinking of the love of my life...
Lost
Today I lost something precious.
When I had the urge to hug,
I let is pass unfulfilled.
When I could have smiled,
I looked inward and resisted.
When I could have listened,
I allowed busyness to steal me away.
I can live with that,
I do each day, with the hope
of a tomorrow more filled with love.
But what I cannot bear to face,
what stops my heart,
is the thought of losing you.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
More on Snakes
Snakes
Sometimes people are like snakes ...
misunderstood,
unappreciated for their beauty and
the important role they play in the world,
shunned,
loathed,
feared,
victims of violence.
Sometimes people are like snakes ...
hoping to be authentic
and trying to live accordingly.
Sometimes people are like snakes ...
misunderstood,
unappreciated for their beauty and
the important role they play in the world,
shunned,
loathed,
feared,
victims of violence.
Sometimes people are like snakes ...
hoping to be authentic
and trying to live accordingly.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Snakes
At our weekend place in the country again, walking through the woods, I encountered a Black Rat Snake sunning itself in the path. I spent a few minutes watching it, and then decided to try to walk on the edge of the path around it, but then the snake started making a rattling sound so I changed my mind. Actually, making this sound is one of the defense mechanisms of this type of harmless snake (harmless unless you are a small rodent that is).
On our property, we have also encountered an Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, which can spread its neck to look like a Cobra. How fascinating that this harmless snake would mimic the type of venomous snake that is not native to the entire North American continent!
I have also had the privilege of seeing a Red Milk Snake, again harmless, but oh so beautiful. This snake mimics the potentially deadly Coral Snake, although Coral Snakes are not found in Missouri.
So it occurs to me that sometimes we are like snakes. We pretend to be something or someone we are not in order to avoid getting hurt. I come back to a couple of my basic understandings. First, to encounter love requires becoming vulnerable. Second, the definition of holiness is authenticity.
More about snakes next time.
On our property, we have also encountered an Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, which can spread its neck to look like a Cobra. How fascinating that this harmless snake would mimic the type of venomous snake that is not native to the entire North American continent!
I have also had the privilege of seeing a Red Milk Snake, again harmless, but oh so beautiful. This snake mimics the potentially deadly Coral Snake, although Coral Snakes are not found in Missouri.
So it occurs to me that sometimes we are like snakes. We pretend to be something or someone we are not in order to avoid getting hurt. I come back to a couple of my basic understandings. First, to encounter love requires becoming vulnerable. Second, the definition of holiness is authenticity.
More about snakes next time.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Mother
Mother
She wiped his toddler nose
and held his hand
and told him stories as he sat on her lap,
stories of the ancestors,
ancient and recent,
stories of her childhood.
She expressed her joy and love and gratitude
to him through her actions and words
and in her prayers.
She delighted in the times he
and her husband spent together,
learning how to saw and carve and nail,
and how to invite God into everyday work,
to begin and end the day the same way-in prayer.
Her husband taught him about growing into a man,
gentle, respectful, generous.
She expected him to become a preacher,
a rabbi, a leader, or a combination,
but not a revolutionary.
Yet her biggest surprise was that at his essence
he was a lover.
He could melt hearts,
dissipate fear,
and heal hatred
in those brave enough to spend time with him.
And she knew his parents
had not taught this precious gift,
although they welcomed and encouraged it.
No, this most precious, essential gift
was Godself living in him,
a gift he shared so freely,
a gift that we all have been given,
a gift we are challenged to accept and to live.
From my book.
She wiped his toddler nose
and held his hand
and told him stories as he sat on her lap,
stories of the ancestors,
ancient and recent,
stories of her childhood.
She expressed her joy and love and gratitude
to him through her actions and words
and in her prayers.
She delighted in the times he
and her husband spent together,
learning how to saw and carve and nail,
and how to invite God into everyday work,
to begin and end the day the same way-in prayer.
Her husband taught him about growing into a man,
gentle, respectful, generous.
She expected him to become a preacher,
a rabbi, a leader, or a combination,
but not a revolutionary.
Yet her biggest surprise was that at his essence
he was a lover.
He could melt hearts,
dissipate fear,
and heal hatred
in those brave enough to spend time with him.
And she knew his parents
had not taught this precious gift,
although they welcomed and encouraged it.
No, this most precious, essential gift
was Godself living in him,
a gift he shared so freely,
a gift that we all have been given,
a gift we are challenged to accept and to live.
From my book.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Listening
I was struck by the following poem (from The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master, translations by Daniel Ladinsky).
WHY NOT BE POLITE
Everyone
Is God speaking.
Why not be polite and
Listen to
Him?
Reminded me of a painting I made several years ago, a self-portrait of sorts. Myself as a spiritual director.
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