Lent

Silent stillness
Winter’s breath
Holding, resting
Secret renewal

Here
Now
Beneath this silent blanket
In stillness, wait

Life Finds a Way

In the face of incredible odds

            life finds a way

In the depths of despair

            life finds a way

 

Against a wall of adversity

Through sorrow

Through pain

 

In the shadow of the unknown

            life finds a way

In the throes of insurmountable struggle

            life finds a way

 

Even through the darkness

Even past doubt

Even beyond death

 

Somehow, always

life finds a way

Ash Wednesday

Burn down this heavy body
Burn down this restless mind
Burn down this angry frustration
and rise again from ashes.

Burn down this need to control
Burn down this pointless anxiety
Burn down this flagging spirit
and rise again from ashes.

There is a gold coin somewhere
in the remains, a silver necklace,
a diamond ring.

Wash me in waters of gratitude
Cleanse me in rivers of joy
Bathe me in the light of forgiveness
and let me rise again from ashes.

4am

They wake me up at 4am
the doubts, the fears,
the anxiety.

All past loss comes tumbling in,
all future loss leers at me
from the closet door.

Be afraid, they whisper.
Be very afraid.
All this is loss, worthless refuse to you…

But, they quote it wrong.
It is “Be NOT Afraid”
and “All BUT this is loss”

They don’t want me to hear that part.
They don’t want me to see the rays of dawn,
or the sparkle of hope on the horizon.

Yes, there has been and will always be loss and change,
but there will always be joy and awe,
like the stars, holding their own in the black void at 4am.

Shared

Shared pain is still pain
Shared loss is still loss

But shared means not alone
and shared, is lessened burden.

We are always part of a greater whole –
always sharing.

Shared joy is doubled joy
Shared peace is tripled peace

Shared love is infinite.

Endless Wonder

I often wondered why I’m here.
I often wondered what I fear.
I often wondered when God would appear.
Oh, the endless wonder. 

And then I had a revelation,
was filled with awe and jubilation
at the wonders of Creation.
Oh, the endless wonder! 

So, I am here to act as witness
to the Holy Spirit’s brilliance
manifest in all existence.
Oh, the Endless Wonder!

All you need is…

I need to dance
I need to sing
I need to throw off this
            dark cloak of burden
And breathe free once more. 

I need to scream
I need to dream
I need to find a way
            to discover my soul
again, amid all the chaos. 

It’s there.
I know it is.
It calls to me
from far away. 

I need to dance
I need to sing
I need to open the gates
            of this weary heart
And let the waiting love flow in, at last.

The Answer to All of Life’s Questions

(it’s probably not 42!) 

What should I do today? God only knows.
Who will I be today? God only knows.
What is my true purpose in life?
What kind of difference do I make in this world?
How much more time do I have on this earth?  God only knows. 

I often ask myself these same questions
and somehow I always get the same answer. 

So, I might as well not worry about any of it,
because no matter what I think,

            God Only Knows.

Realization

Sometimes I feel so lost and alone
abandoned by the world and the Word
hopeless and empty
facing impossible struggles 

Then I see the miracles
serendipitous coincidences
fragile birds perched happily on snow laden branches
tender new shoots in a pot of useless soil 

And I realize I have never been alone-
the Great I am wraps her shawl
around me, kisses my forehead
and I sigh…

Divination

I long to touch the Sacred
to be moved by the Holy
to feel connected to the Divine.

But it’s not happening…

I do pray. I do sit.
I do plead and beg.
And then I do despair.

The only voice I hear is my own.
The only light that shines in my eyes is this electric lamp.
The only warmth in my heart is circulating blood.

So, should I conclude there is no Sacred,
no Holy, no Divine?
Or, just perhaps, I am looking at this all wrong…

Could it be that my voice, my eyes, my blood,
are actually the miracles, the connections to Creation
that I have been aching for?

Could it be that the Divine has been here all the time…
in me?