Meditating to Heal

To love God, I must be weak.

I must be ready; I must be holy.

To love God, I must be good to the poor.

I must receive His wisdom.

To love God, I must be like Jesus,

tending to the poor, the hurting,

the hungry, the sick,

And the dying.

To love God, I must love the drunkard,

the thief, the murderer.

I bring only hunger, dear God.

I bring the love of Your Son.

I bring the brightness of Your sun,

the light of Your moon,

the rustle of the trees in Your breath.

I bring the love of Your limitless glory.

In my mortal weakness

I am perfection in Your countenance.

© Russell Kendall Carter

     Living a spiritual life can be difficult unless we can adopt patience as a way of life. Only when our inner self attains dominance, or at least equity, with our material lives can we achieve any depth of true spirituality. When we allow nothing to separate us from God’s all-encompassing Love, we enter the realm of spirituality. We become a sanctuary for the Holy Spirit to live within us.

          As mortal man, I am nothing, but dust controlled by the wind. But when I open my heart to God, I become the great creation He has made. I become an image of patience and thanksgiving, sharing God’s Love with all humanity.    Spiritually, I am certain that I can never succeed unless all humanity succeeds. I know that as a mortal man, I sometimes have difficulty practicing this, even if I consciously work to succeed. I believe that this is the only thing preventing me from living a complete spiritual life.

          Each morning I awaken praying that I will be a sanctuary for the Spirit of God, sharing His eternal Love with all I meet and living a truly spiritual life.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Proverbs warns me that pride generates destruction. With pride I have no inner stillness; I can neither meditate nor pray; the Holy Spirit cannot consecrate my soul with God’s Love. I rid myself of pride to receive God’s great Mercy; this void opens my heart to receive His word; His Grace removes my false pride and fills my heart with Love.

I join the strength of the people who are guided solely by faith. I raise my thoughts to a higher level, giving hope and strength to the hopeless and the weak I meet each day. I give my life into God’s Hands, follow His Commandments, and share His Love.

It is when I feel that goodness coming only from God and is reflecting my actions toward those less fortunate than I am. I share my bounty with my brothers and sisters who suffer from our cruel society. Gracious God, allow me to keep pride at bay and follow your invitations only to love.

© Russell Kendall Carter

This from Psalms 119 can be the path upon which we walk if we truly take this to heart. The Hebrew scriptures also invite us to strengthen our hearts with courage; then will God appear in our lives to light the way. God’s law is simple: love. With God living within, evil cannot invade our hearts; out of the depths of our despair, we call to the Lord and all evil thoughts pass by, and our lives, they thrive.

I rise each morning with God’s presence in my heart and my mind. My love for humanity is full, and my very being overflows with kindness and lightheartedness. I am so blessed to be your brother.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Today’s meditation brings to mind the parable of the thorns and seeds that Jesus preached. As individuals and as members of the human community, we must be aware that the seeds we spread land on fertile soil. Too many of our thoughts and actions fall among the thorns and are smothered by evil and hate.

I am sure that if we take the time to properly plant our seeds of love, giving by a most grateful God, will lift humanity to work in the light of God’s light and bring all living creation to its fullest state.

Our fears are humanized by greed, by the feeling that there is not enough of God’s love for all. If we accept God’s love for ourselves and our neighbors, all of the seeds we plant will grow to be trees and plants of the grandest images of a perfect society.

God is love; let us be also.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Negative emotions fill our days; if allowed, they consume our lives. We must fall back on wisdom to reveal what bothers us in our lives. We must face these problems gently, but firmly, and with compassion. Our society has not taught us how to deal with our darker side, our negative emotions. We call on mental health experts to help us when all we need is to meditate and ask God for help. For we find comfort and peace I God’s loving embrace.

© Russell Kendall Carter

I greet the new sunrise;

I rise on wings of fire –

the breaths of my life.

I am strength . . .

the source of hope.

In my journey of discovery,

we are the source;

yet, I stop to clean the toilets of life.

Change will come, for

together we are stronger.

One more day –

to correct a wrong,

to reason, to wonder, to question.

Answers will come . . .

When we hear my song.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Thinking back to years gone by

a mere child was I

returning to time so easy

brings light to a heavy heart . . .

within.

Morning and night

I struggle but a voice calls;

it is a call for universal love

and a return to the presence of God . . .

within

© Russell Kendall Carter

Incarnational, Queer Love

Who are we to judge? We judge by man’s laws, not God. God loves all His children; therefore, God loves those who love no matter whom they love. We must do the same if we profess to be children of God. Jesus was tortured and executed because He threatened the power of those who had a narrow interpretation of Mosaic law. Those who label themselves as part of the LBGTG population also threaten those in power.

Jesus asks us to follow two commandments; Love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. If we love God, then we have no room in our hearts to not love our neighbor, no matter who our neighbors love.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Imagine a space, that –

between us; with

God’s presence,

our gatherings are blessed.

With God,

what was separate –

joins us in harmony,

joins in love.

Between those in love –

there can be no gap.

© Russell Kendall Carter