Meditating to Heal

Let us walk together in love and brotherhood; let us leave the past behind. The mistakes and errors of the past lead us through a door of remembrance to the future. We put aside those past deeds to renew our spirit of love and walk with the Wisdom of God who asks us just to be. He wants us to be ourselves, to be loving, to be and share goodness. To be in His presence, as He receives us, is one of the miracles of life.

God is forever; because He forgives our sins, we are the light of His world. With a renewed sense of consciousness, we are cleansed and restored, lifted by His will from our societal storms. We are like the oceans in raging storms. On the surface all is tempestuous with thunder and lightning, but deep below are still waters; all is calm within for there is where God dwells.

On this day, I pray that we receive a mysterious text reminding us who we truly are, allowing us to walk in a new direction firmly in the light of God. Our past is forgotten; our future is new and blessed.

© Russell Kendall Carter

What does it mean when I hear that God loves me? God’s love for me never changes, and I am blessed forever. I know this because when I read the teachings and the life of Jesus, He always cared about people’s souls and bodies. And He still does. He tells me often: “As the Father loves me, so I love you.”

I know you understand what this means to me. God sees me wandering in my personal desert, hungry and thirsty for relief. He knows what I need; He feeds me with His cup of compassion and love. As I rise from my self-inflicted desert, I see the river of hope that God shows us, but only when we don’t follow our own plan; I am in my own desert only when God’s GPS is ignored.

When I turn back to God, my prayers are answered; I am held in God’s unchanging hands of love. God sees me weak with hunger for Love, Compassion, and Peace, all of which only God gives. God blesses us forever; as seekers, we accept God as our eternal sustainer of truth and love and life. . . all that only God gives.

© Russell Kendall Carter

From the Earth we are born and to the Earth we return. But that interim period is absolutely a gift from God. Young or old – there is little change, for we are all children of God – forever. God brings us into this world in love and in love we live; God visits us through love.

I remember reading this in Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” But until I heard the Byrds singing “Turn, Turn, Turn,” it didn’t register as something that meant something to me. The songs of the Byrds in the folk style of the days of yore represent the art of the times. As I look back on my 79 years, I realize that my life is surrounded by art. Art circles the years of my life with joy and pleasure.

This art comes from God and is an important part of my circle of life. Art instructs; art teaches! Art brings us together making all life inter-related; I share my life of art within the spiritual Body of God. But art does not surround me for I am not in the center; the center of my life is GOD’S; I merely revolve around His blessings. I trust God; I learned from St. Paul in 2 Thessalonians, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” My circle of life is peace; my circle of life is Love. All comes from God. As God shares with me, I share with you. My life is a work of art given by God; as yours is.

© Russell Kendall Carter

My presence is with God; I am mindful of my cherished Love and relationship with Him. I am strong in my Love of God for He keeps me alive in His Holy Kingdom. My forefather was made from the dust of the earth. The earth surrounds me. When I am with the earth, I am in silence, listening. . . listening. My personal survival depends on the earth, God’s Holy creation. I am not the center of my universe; it is God whom I long to please.

I approach the subject of my presence slowly, quietly, reverently, listening for God wherever I may go. I know that when I listen for the presence of God, I leave my self-contained, private world and become a part of His Spiritual Kingdom. I trust the lovingkindness of God to carry me through my trials; my individuality is not trustful when I doubt; therefore, I turn to God and enter that loving space between heaven and earth, my place of prayer. It is then that I offer my prayers of intercession for others. For I know that by lifting my fellow man in prayer, I am strong in God. And others are strong in God.

Heavenly Father, we all walk in the shadow of death and hard times; it is Your Love that lifts us and returns us to life and health. It is Your Love that my presence rises to help others in their troubles; thank You, God, for allowing me to pray, to live, to love.

© Russell Kendall Carter

God is our salvation; He created us; He knows us before we are in our mother’s womb. He thirsts for our Love; He thirsts for our Trust. Yet, it should be the other way; we should thirst. God is our salvation. There is neither church nor government that does what God does for us. God speaks directly to us; we merely have to open our hearts to listen. . . to receive.

The reality of God’s Love comes to us through the teachings of Jesus, taking darkness and trepidation from our lives. God is our father, mother, brother, and sister. And Jesus comes to us in Love and humbly conquers the world. Let us reflect on all of the goodness and love that we experience each week. This comes from God.

The Bible often mentions how God lifts us and strengthen us. That is because we come to Him as imperfect beings, made in His image, but not Him. Isaiah reminds us that God is always with us, strengthens us, and helps us. Look to the sky; it brings us comfort, warmth, promise; this is God. God does wonderful things for us; therefore, nothing can be too difficult for us. Be silent, listen, pray; God Loves.

©Russell Kendall Carter

Have you ever read a story in the Gospels and put yourself in the scene? Don’t think less of me if you haven’t; I sometimes picture myself as an onlooker, experiencing the teachings of Jesus. It is learning from the mouth of the Master, Teach me Lord! The awareness of being in the presence of Jesus leads me closer to God, closer to God’s Holy Creation. I give thanks for the love of commitment to God and all of His ways.

It is like I am bursting with the possibility, no, the certainty of using the gifts and talents that I have for the greater good. I pray that my being is pleasing to God; yet I am sure it is because I awaken each morning knowing that God has given me more time to do His work.

God makes our bodies embodied as a living place for the Holy Spirit. He holds us to be purveyors of His Holy Words, walking in Love. We are part of His Kingdom loving our neighbors and practicing our strong faith in His presence.

God’s Kingdom is Love and with God’s Love we embrace Wisdom in its fullness. Give God’s Grace as a gift for your life. Dream, tomorrow is our gift of life; our Bible is our compass; God’s GPS. Feel the new hope that surrounds us.

Thank you, Father, for your confidence in us; thank you for the creating us to share your creation with our brothers and sisters.

© Russell Kendall Carter

I (we are) am one of the manifestations of God; He created me (us). There is nothing that can harm me. I am unique (you are unique), yet I share a commonality with all my brothers and sisters, six billion at the latest count, and I am blessed to have so many family members.

I will not let despair or problems define me. It is God and my trust in God that defines me to my family and friends. I was once told and finally learned for myself that any problems that crop up in my life are merely solutions in disguise. I live in the now; my faith and trust in God allows me to drown myself in my inner mind, my meditations, as I experience all God has for me,

to define myself, I first ask “Who am I;” then I remind myself that I do not judge others; I am a peer of others. Bringing forth these two concepts allows me to enter a much more interesting experience of prayer and of life.

I walk with God; I walk with those whom I meet. I share God’s Grace and Love.

I awake and ask who am I; when I retire for the night, I ask who am I. I am thankful to be of God.                                                                                                         

© Russell Kendall Carter

The choice is ours to make!

We gain eternal wisdom by listening to God and following Jesus. If we have true Wisdom, we need not fear using it to make society better. We cannot be anxious when we feel threatened by those who lack Wisdom. Anxiety or trepidation is merely a defensive mechanism to escape a troubling situation.

We perform in the light of Wisdom, practicing the Grace of God. This is walking with the love of Jesus and His humility. We have many great references in the Bible for inspiration, but I love John 1:17, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” From this we can hold all that is good in our hearts and share this goodness with all.

In our culture, we often mistaken trepidation for feebleness, failing to exhibit artificial strength. My disagreement cannot be stronger; we do not have to be obnoxious or pushy to practice wisdom. Our wholeness and grace come from God, creating a bounty of goodness and fulfillment unmatched by arrogance.

When profit or political power are more important than people’s welfare and being, dictatorship and militarism may soon follow. This is not the society we want. We want a society of goodness and grace, the goodness and grace that can only come from God.

I prefer that which comes from God’s eternal Wisdom; I may be meek; I may be soft-spoken, but I try to be like Jesus, remembering that the greatest among us is truly a servant of the people. I pray we can emulate Jesus and follow in His footsteps.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Spirituality and caution are two important pillars of our life of faith. Neither is a means to an end; however, both are expressions of mindfulness and understanding. They are the demonstrated proofs and tools of Wisdom and are to be used judiciously and free of any hint of condemnation or accusation.

When first meeting people, our vigilance, our internal awareness, and acceptance of the stranger as a family member is shown outwardly by our ascetic display of acceptance and brotherhood. We cannot care whether this person is a sinner; for we are all sinners, and as part of humanity, he also is God’s next of kin. We are all made in His image.

As I walk daily on the pathway of truth and light, may I always offer kindness to others; may I also live my life of prayer, and may God hear my prayers and the prayers of all His children.

© Russell Kendall Carter

God’s devotion to humanity; from Isaiah “I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants” (44:3). This promise brings comfort and pleasure to my life. Our entire creation is a gift from God. I am blessed for my place is a place of love, God’s Love. Because I love, I know God, for God is Love.

I pray that my life with all of my problems and material impermanence remains in God’s loving hands. He created me and knew me before I was born. God’s presence is my essential being. He is never isolated from me. Because Love is God, I know God. We are each given God’s Love. I am surrounded by God’s Love and man’s love, each strengthens my life, each strengthens my resolve for God; each strengthens my love.

God’s devotion with humanity is unlimited, but so much better when we Love. Let us all love in the way the Jesus taught us.

© Russell Kendall Carter