"For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you."
Luke 17:21
As I continue to reflect on the events of this week, the more I see that we are to be the change we seek in this world. We can't look to anything around us to be just or right, but only to ourselves to love and BE the Kingdom of God here and now. Fr. Richard Rohr offered a much-needed prayer yesterday and part of it said,
"If you are indeed a Suffering God, may we hold this suffering with You..." (Richard Rohr, 11/9/16)
There is much suffering all over the world, not just in our own land. Our God doesn't cause suffering or even fix suffering, but indeed, suffers with us. All we have to do is look to the cross and see that God suffers with us. God also commissions us to go out to comfort and ease the suffering of others. God relies on us to be the good we seek. Thankfully, God also will gift us with what we need to do that...we just need to ask and invite God into our hearts. Love, heidi
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Our refuge and strength...
"God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea."
Psalm 46:2-3
We pray, not that we will change God, but that God will change us. May we be open and pliable to the change we need. Only God can change us. Only God can heal us. Only God can work within us to bring out the REAL us. In the meantime, more will be asked of us. We are asked to be light where there is darkness. We are asked to be hope when things seem hopeless. We are asked to stand with the poor, disenfranchised, and suffering when they feel left out and abandoned. We are asked to care for our earthly home. We are asked to be God's hands and feet in the world when the world needs us. We are asked to look in the mirror and be the people we thought we already were, but, apparently, we aren't. Yet. Love, heidi
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea."
Psalm 46:2-3
We pray, not that we will change God, but that God will change us. May we be open and pliable to the change we need. Only God can change us. Only God can heal us. Only God can work within us to bring out the REAL us. In the meantime, more will be asked of us. We are asked to be light where there is darkness. We are asked to be hope when things seem hopeless. We are asked to stand with the poor, disenfranchised, and suffering when they feel left out and abandoned. We are asked to care for our earthly home. We are asked to be God's hands and feet in the world when the world needs us. We are asked to look in the mirror and be the people we thought we already were, but, apparently, we aren't. Yet. Love, heidi
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Election Day...
"Trust in the Lord and do good
that you may dwell in the land and live secure."
Psalm 37:3
I admit it--I don't know exactly how it works when we pray for an election. I'm not sure that God manipulates elections, even if invited to do so. God gives us free will, as well as hearts, minds and consciences. Our democracy gives us the opportunity to use all four to elect the leaders of our country. If God can manipulate elections, what does that do to our free will? Are not both sides in a polarizing election praying to the same God? Confusing, isn't it? I've been learning lately that we don't pray to change God but we pray for God to change us. In other words, we don't pray to sway God's mind about something, but that God will fortify our minds and nourish our hearts to fulfill our destiny on this planet. Maybe God helps us deal with the results of our own free will? In any event, this election day, I remember the many, many people who have sacrificed to give me the privilege and responsibility to vote. My great-grandmothers couldn't vote simply because they were women, so in their honor I will humbly, and prayerfully, vote today. And I will also pray today, that God will touch the individual hearts of all in this country. For God loves us all and God resides in all of us. God bless us! Love, heidi
Sunday, November 6, 2016
A cat in the daisies...
"The mystery of Christ is revealed, and the Christ "comes again," whenever we are able to see the spiritual and the material coexisting, in any moment, in any event, and in any person."
Fr. Richard Rohr, Daily Meditation
If this is true, and I believe it is, Christ came again to my backyard on Saturday. I saw a mysterious cat in the yard, actually Tebow-the-dog found it first. I thought it would go home on its own, but later, even when I couldn't see it, Tebow found it hiding in the daisies. I tried to coax it out with a bit of food and it made a very angry face and hissing sound that made me take a few steps back (I'm not a cat person!) I called the one person I knew could help, Porsche from Teton Kennel. She came over after work with her daughters and a little cat carrier. The cat was hunkered down in the daisies, making itself very hard to see. Porsche, a Cat Whisperer, just reached into the daisies, bare-handed and pulled the cat out by the scruff of its neck and placed it gently in the carrier. The cat gave a speech, but I didn't understand any of it! Porsche posted the found cat on Facebook and, literally, I kid you not, she'd found the owner within an hour. The owner was so grateful, explaining the cat had been missing for ten days! So how in the world is this story Christ coming again? A small creature, loved by God, is gently and lovingly returned home, where it had been mourned and missed for days. This story's got Christ-coming written all over it! Love, heidi
Fr. Richard Rohr, Daily Meditation
If this is true, and I believe it is, Christ came again to my backyard on Saturday. I saw a mysterious cat in the yard, actually Tebow-the-dog found it first. I thought it would go home on its own, but later, even when I couldn't see it, Tebow found it hiding in the daisies. I tried to coax it out with a bit of food and it made a very angry face and hissing sound that made me take a few steps back (I'm not a cat person!) I called the one person I knew could help, Porsche from Teton Kennel. She came over after work with her daughters and a little cat carrier. The cat was hunkered down in the daisies, making itself very hard to see. Porsche, a Cat Whisperer, just reached into the daisies, bare-handed and pulled the cat out by the scruff of its neck and placed it gently in the carrier. The cat gave a speech, but I didn't understand any of it! Porsche posted the found cat on Facebook and, literally, I kid you not, she'd found the owner within an hour. The owner was so grateful, explaining the cat had been missing for ten days! So how in the world is this story Christ coming again? A small creature, loved by God, is gently and lovingly returned home, where it had been mourned and missed for days. This story's got Christ-coming written all over it! Love, heidi
Thursday, November 3, 2016
All good gifts are to be shared
"No, we do not truly comprehend any spiritual thing until we ourselves give it away. Spiritual gifts increase only by 'using' them, whereas material gifts normally decrease by usage."
Fr. Richard Rohr, "Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps"
This is one of the most important lessons I feel God is trying to teach me. I say "trying" because I am a rather hard sell in this area. I love going off alone on retreat and just letting God love me so much! But God has made it clear to me that retreat time is only me filling up to give to others. I could soak in God's love for days and days, just taking, taking it in. But God is clear that my receiving is for giving to others later. Anything I glean on retreat must be shared or the true gift is lost. We can pray with this message by first looking, gratefully, at the spiritual gifts God has given us. Once identified, we can ask God for avenues to share them with others, since that is what God had in mind when we were given them! All good gifts are meant to be shared...how can we do that today? Love, heidi
Fr. Richard Rohr, "Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps"
This is one of the most important lessons I feel God is trying to teach me. I say "trying" because I am a rather hard sell in this area. I love going off alone on retreat and just letting God love me so much! But God has made it clear to me that retreat time is only me filling up to give to others. I could soak in God's love for days and days, just taking, taking it in. But God is clear that my receiving is for giving to others later. Anything I glean on retreat must be shared or the true gift is lost. We can pray with this message by first looking, gratefully, at the spiritual gifts God has given us. Once identified, we can ask God for avenues to share them with others, since that is what God had in mind when we were given them! All good gifts are meant to be shared...how can we do that today? Love, heidi
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Peace in the journey
"The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction. But they are in peace."
Wisdom 3:1-2
This reading, on the Feast of All Souls, never ceases to comfort me. Losing loved ones and friends is terribly hard and you don't reach this age without experiencing it. But actually being with someone as they pass from one life to the next can be illuminating. The passage can be so gentle; just the difference between one breath and the absence of another one...peace-filled and gentle. Seeing that certainly can give us a peaceful image of death, but it isn't always the case, unfortunately. My dad, for example, struggled so as he inched toward death, it was too difficult for my mom and I to watch. Dying isn't always peaceful, but death is. Today, as we remember our dear loved ones who are rejoicing on the other side, let's remember those who struggle in dying as well as those who struggle in life. Peace, the peace of God, is what we all long for and, ultimately, will rejoice in. For all of us on the journey, let us pray...Love, heidi
Wisdom 3:1-2
This reading, on the Feast of All Souls, never ceases to comfort me. Losing loved ones and friends is terribly hard and you don't reach this age without experiencing it. But actually being with someone as they pass from one life to the next can be illuminating. The passage can be so gentle; just the difference between one breath and the absence of another one...peace-filled and gentle. Seeing that certainly can give us a peaceful image of death, but it isn't always the case, unfortunately. My dad, for example, struggled so as he inched toward death, it was too difficult for my mom and I to watch. Dying isn't always peaceful, but death is. Today, as we remember our dear loved ones who are rejoicing on the other side, let's remember those who struggle in dying as well as those who struggle in life. Peace, the peace of God, is what we all long for and, ultimately, will rejoice in. For all of us on the journey, let us pray...Love, heidi
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