Meditating to Heal

Advent word of the Day: Worthy

 

“Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; ⁷ therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed.” Luke 7:6-7

 

Lord,

I am not worthy of Your Love

I am a broken human

trying to live in a world

filled with evil and greed

selfishness and misery

I pray  for Your Love and Grace

as I walk the path that You made for me

I am fulfilled by the Love of others

that You so graciously allow me to cherish

I long to pray with my brothers and sisters

to bring them into your light

to lighten their load as they also

navigate the hate-filled world we live in

allow me the opportunity to help us

live our worthiness in Your world.

 

 

 

 

Advent word of the day: Unity

 

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united

with him in his resurrection. Romans 6:5

 

 

I was united with my birth family twenty-four years

then I married

I have been united with God for a lifetime

I have been united with my wife fifty-two years

and with my children for forty-five years

I have been united with God for a lifetime

I was united with my school years for twelve years

then untied with college professors for fifteen years

from a bachelors to a doctorate

all at night, all while working, all while raising a family

I have been united with God for a lifetime                                                                                                                                                                         

I was untied with my work life for thirty business years

then another twenty-four as a teacher and professor

I have been united with God for a lifetime

 

Through it all there has been miles and miles

of love, of companionship, of making life-long friends

with one uniting element

I have been united with God for a lifetime

 

 

 

 

 

Advent word of the day: House

 

He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:13

 

Each morning, I enter the house of the Lord

As I awaken, God is with me

The air I breath, the birds I hear

As I walk through his garden

My yard of flowers and rustic plants

I am in awe of His beauty

Birds feeding from the feeders

Squirrels and groundhogs

Nibbling on the seeds the birds fling to the ground

His kingdom is all around

His kingdom is within me

my body is His temple

it is the house

within which

He dwells

 

Advent word of the day: Raise

 

Jesus rises from His tomb

bringing new life to all

as I rise each morning,

I awaken to a new life

all past sins are forgiven

walking a lighted path

one that Jesus has laid for me

I adopt a life of faith

loving all humankind

loving all creatures

loving all that God has made.

I am thankful for the life

given by God

led by Jesus

to eternal grace

Advent Word of the Day: Humble

“For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

Jesus asks

We to be humble

before God

before our fellow man

the last will be first

Abba

On my knees

I beg

To have the strength

To serve my brothers and sisters

To see the homeless and the hungry

To shelter them and feed them.

Dear God

Give me the strength

To be like Jesus

Lifting humankind up

Allowing all to realize

Your Forgiving Grace.

Your Selfless Love.

 

Advent word of the Day: Unexpected

 
“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven,

nor the Son, but only the Father.” Matthew 24:36

 

What is it that is unexpected

awaits our wakening

awaits His awakening.

It is us

awaiting the unexpected

awaiting something we

cannot comprehend.

That unexpected gift

will be so small, so vulnerable

but His gifts bring us Grace

of everlasting life

of love stronger than death.

We need not fear the unexpected.

The unexpected brings God,

God within us.

Advent at our Door.

 “Through the call of Jesus people become individuals. Willy-nilly, they are compelled to decide, and that decision can only be made by themselves. It is no choice of their own that makes them individuals: it is Christ who makes them individuals by calling them. Every person is called separately, and must follow alone.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Our video cameras observe a strange figure approaching our home. He is dressed in robes with filthy sandals on his feet. He is unshaven with scruffy brown hair covering his head. He uses a staff to guide him as he walks.

I fear this stranger; he does not belong in our community of finely dressed lawns and properly manicured houses. Hasn’t he read the proclamation that door-to-door peddlers are not allowed. So much for our gated community. I wish he would just go away; maybe I will ignore the Christmas song, when he rings my bell.

But where did he go; he has disappeared! I can no longer see him.

Someone calls to me; the voice is inside the house. No, the voice is in my head. It beckons me . . . to what I do not know. I am suddenly ashamed of my lifestyle. Why? I worked hard for this. Why am I suddenly concerned about the welfare of that robed stranger? My mind says, where is he God; protect him. He is a special, but I do not see him; I do not know him.

The voice calls back to me. Look in the mirror; he is within you, always.

 

God of All

“Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you

the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:3– 4

How weak our relation to God

Is today is our last

Are we ready to face God

Are our hearts clean

God asks us to resist

Evil and greed

And hatred

The Sun warms us

Brings us light

Roses smell the same

Be the nose a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim

The Sun, the rose, God

Are for all people

And all living things

We all share His grace

I Listen, await God’s joy

I deny enmity

I praise God and his creation . . .

Us!

We can only Understand the Past

 

We cannot know what lies before us in our lives; nor can we understand why the future happens. The only thing we can understand is what has already occurred; for this reason, philosophers argue that life can only be understood backwards, but we must live life forward if we are to be successful in our quest to life the life that God wants of us.

We hope that our lives are filled with goodness and purity and a strong faith in our God. We find God, only when we recognize that God is in everything we see, every person we meet. If we cannot see God in the face of others, or in the plants and animals we see, then we are not of faith, we are of derision. The more we want to find God, the easier it becomes, because He is all around; and, He is within us.

We feel that God has deserted us, when we face hardships or perils. The dark days we face are made easier when we realize that God is always with us, and the only way we survive these times is through the guidance that God gives us. In every turn of our lives, God defeats the evil that lurks around the corner to catch us in its grasp. We only have to accept God in our lives.

Paying attention

            Many times, I ask what I pay attention to; most of the time I am at a loss. There are so many distractions that surround my life that I often think that if I were a swimmer, I would be accused of treading water; in other words, getting nowhere. When I was teaching, I knew where I was going and what I was doing; it was easy. I had many students that I was mentoring, preparing them for college, or while teaching in college, preparing them to complete their majors successfully. However, now that I am retired, I often wonder what purpose my life has!

            About one year before I retired, I devoted my life to helping others, and not as a teacher or professor. I have always been active in prayer in my church, so I asked God if this is what He wanted for the remainder of my life. I have not heard from Him. At least, magic words were not whispered in my ears. But, I am writing prayers and poetry devoted to prayer. I am a member of three different prayer groups at my church. And, I am a Stephen Minister, who prays daily for several of men and women in church who are suffering.

            God has delivered many messages to humans; most we ignore. He calls us His children; all of us. We cannot be infantile children and ignore His words; His words are life. If we heed His words, our lives will be turned upside down by goodness, which is much more valuable than any other thing. When we listen to what God says, we find the promise of peace within ourselves. When this peace is within us, we bring this peace to others, just by our actions. Living with this peace in our hearts, is its own consequence; everything is viewed through this lens of calmness, giving the appearance of everything a new outlook for us.

            We can only do this by paying attention to what God says to us. I find that meditation allows me to do this. Meditation allows me to recognize the reality of life in its simplest form, without the influence of troubling news, judgments of others, or the actions of those who want to destroy man’s relationship with God. Pay attention; find peace within.