Just like Elijah...

..."but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave."
1 Kings 19:12-13

I can easily relate to this reading today since I just returned from four days standing at "the entrance of the cave," like Elijah. I was sitting on the porch of my own little hermitage, however, at Marymount Hermitage. I heard the sound of sheer silence; I could hear the sound of my own heart beating at times! It was (and always is) a profoundly beautiful experience. What does God say, you may wonder, in all that time sitting on the porch? God says the same thing God always says, "I love you." God says it all the time, no matter where I happen to be, but I tend to hear it better at the hermitage, in the sheer silence. It is the song the birds sing, and the crickets chirp. The tiny little lizard sits in the sun with me on the porch and his little eyes blink the message to me. "God loves you." It's in the dance of the sage grouse, the male chasing the female down the road bellowing his crazy "come on now!" Everything there is relaying God's message of love to me, and I just bask in it. This message of love is so needed in our world today, but we need to hear it and then pass it on. So I'm passing it on here. God loves us more than we can ever imagine. God is with us in these days of difficulty and struggle. God props us up and gives us what we need to do the work. But, sometimes, it is good for us to just be alone with God and take in that message of love for ourselves. One of the books I read on retreat was "A Tree Full of Angels," by Macrina Wiederkehr, who just recently passed into eternal life. She wrote a little poem, part of which is here:

 "Alone

  All-one

         Alone with God     

    All-one with God

Now I understand 

why Jesus went out

to the desert hills so often

                                             alone..."                                         

      Macrina Wiederkehr, "A Tree Full of Angels"

Come, Great Spirit!

Thanks to The Work of the People...



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Pentecost...open the gifts!

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim."
Acts 2:4

Today is the feast of Pentecost and as I sat in the treehouse, this morning, I wondered what Pentecost has to teach us after this very difficult week in our country. What are the lessons of Pentecost that can help us now? I listened to Pray-As-You-Go and loved how they defined the language of Pentecost: Forgiveness, Love and Understanding. These are gifts that all humans can appreciate, and, indeed, desperately need right now. And the really nice thing about it is that these gifts are given to us in advance, so we can "re-gift" them to others. We don't have to come up with our own forgiveness, love and understanding at all! The Holy Spirit gives us the gifts first. Think about when you receive a gift--let's say someone leaves a wrapped present by your doorstep. The gift just sits there, not really helping you at all. You need to open your door and receive the gift, unwrap it and put it to use. The Holy Spirit gifts us with forgiveness, love and understanding, but if we just leave the gift on our doorstep, nothing within us will change. We need to recognize the spiritual gifts, open them within our hearts and re-gift them to others. I was doing Centering Prayer in the treehouse, after listening to this reading. The calm, still morning was startled by a breeze through the tree. I imagined it as the Holy Spirit coming to drop off a beautiful present for me to take in, open, and put to good use in my life. The gifts of forgiveness, love and understanding are invaluable gifts right now, as we are going through such difficult times. As far as I can see it, the Holy Spirit is coming none-too-soon! Let's all take a minute or two and breathe in the gifts of the Spirit in our own hearts. Accept the gifts and unwrap them. And, since the gifts are not just for us alone, let's pass them onto others in our hurting world. Come, Holy Spirit! Love, heidi

Do you love me? No, really, do you?

"'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Simon Peter answered him, 'Yes Lord, you know that I love you.' He said to him, 'Tend my sheep.'"
John 21:16

And Jesus is asking us the same question this last Friday in May. "Heidi, daughter of Mickey and Rosie, do you love me?" Yes, Lord, you know I love you! My resounding Yes couldn't be more emphatic, really! And then Jesus gives me the recipe for showing my love--loving others. It's so much easier just to sit in the treehouse and love the squirrels and birds! Our relationships with Jesus aren't just between Jesus-n-us, though. The way we love Jesus back is by loving all who Jesus loves, which is everyone. Jesus loves those we would walk across the street to avoid. Jesus loves those who don't look like us, or believe the same creed we do.  Jesus loves those of all races and sexual orientations. It's hard to emphasize enough that the walls we put up to keep others out are not the Jesus way. The closing in on ourselves to protect what we think is rightfully ours, is not the Jesus way. (MY job. MY healthcare. MY country. MY toilet paper!) I really don't know how we Christians got so far off course, thinking Jesus is only on our side; only likes our rituals, only likes the smell of our incense, only wants us to be prosperous. Jesus said to follow him we must love and care for everyone. Matthew 25:31-40 makes it as clear as the sunshine through my tree. We just had beautiful Memorial Day remembrances for all those who died for this country, and rightfully so. But I can't help but wonder if we treat the dead with much more love and respect than we treat the living?  As a society, are we failing this Jesus quiz on the beach? Do you love me? Let's give it some thought and prayer. Love, heidi

Dancing in the grass...

"Jesus said to his disciples, 'Amen, amen I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.'"
John 16:20

Today is the last day of school for the school year. It's actually more sad than it is joyful, simply because we haven't been in school since March 13. But, yesterday we had a staff meeting (online) and the atmosphere was very hopeful. Hope is a precious thing and the agenda with the opening preparation dates and schedule gave me just what I need to carry on. Jesus telling his friends that they will see him again and they will feel joy again must have given them hope, don't you think?  He told them they would experience his absence but then he would be present again in their lives. Our lives can be a roller coaster of feeling Jesus present and then not; Jesus can feel so far away. Spending time in quiet or in nature can give us the sense of Jesus very present with us. In sensing Jesus' presence, we can tap into the joy that goes along with experiencing Jesus. Today and this weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day, let's take some time to think back on the times of difficulty in our lives and how they were followed by times of joy. We've all experienced times we thought our lives may never be good again, and then...they are. We find ourselves dancing in the grass (metaphor, but it also really happened!) I smile when I look ahead to the new school year, as this weird one ends today. If I look closely, I see kids dancing in the grass. Love, heidi

Love isn't love...til you give it away!

"Love one another."
John 15:17

Love is always the bottom line, isn't it? I remember an old song we used to sing when we'd gather for prayer when I was just a young Jesus freak. It had a line that said, "Love isn't love til you give it away." Love not shared with others, one another, isn't really love. Love shared is true love. I was thinking about that in the midst of this difficult time and I realize that loving each other now may mean understanding that we are all experiencing this time differently. It's a world-wide thing, of course, but it can affect us very differently, depending on our circumstances. Those of us who are retired may not have our income as affected as someone who is unemployed right now. Some of us actually enjoy hanging out quietly at home, while others are juggling teaching their children, managing their own job from home and trying to keep sane in the midst of all that. Then, there are the health care workers, who are battling this virus from the front line! Their courage is so awesome, but aren't they getting weary of it all?  I was so moved the other day, as I walked past the nursing home in my neighborhood. A family was gathered outside a resident's window in order to connect with him or her. Those on the inside must feel so isolated and confused. We all may be sharing this boat, but some of us are in nice cabins with a view while many others are struggling in steerage. Loving one another means understanding that there are those differences. We can love one another by stepping out of our own little bubbles and imagining what others may be experiencing. Let's ask God to show us how we can help. Love, heidi