Morning Prayer

March 8, 2018July 23, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

MORNING PRAYER

Here I am again, Dearest God, embracing another new day which has been gifted to me. I thank you for all the possibilities ahead. I thank you for this moment I am taking to pause and remember You. Once my day gets going, I tend to forget you. Please forgive my inattention, my tendency to check the boxes of the day thoughtlessly, forgetting You as the Giver of each moment. May this day be different. May I focus on the goodness you offer so freely and universally. May I participate in its unfolding that I may see my part in making it happen. Free me from the usual distractions and wants which pull me away from the purposes You have put in place for me. Show me the way, dear God. Light me up with your Love and peace. Heal whatever needs mending. May it be so, today and every day. I am yours.

Amen and Amen

Your Whispers Heal My Soul

March 7, 2018March 7, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Slow down.

Take it easy.

Listen.

You are trying too hard.

Open your eyes – notice.

Relax and breathe.

Trust and receive.

Allow me to help.

Get out of the way.

Be kind to yourself.

Don’t worry!

I’ve got this;

I’ve got you.

Freedom is yours.

Choose it!

This is a new day.

I love you completely.

Blossom with joy.

Be Love.

I have shown you how.

Remember me.

We are One.

Poem · Poetry

Storms

March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Rain on me,

get me wet!

Give me that helpful push with your

blustery force!

Wake me from slumber

with winds that push me forward.

Baptize me

once again –

help me remember

that I belong to you.

Remind me that storms are

necessary.

They come and they go.

Each one bringing something new

into my life.

Let me not brace against

or resist.

Get me wet.

Poem · Poetry

All Is Well

March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

How I wonder at

the many ways of getting it wrong –

the things that pull us away,

derail and distract us from

the truth of who we are

and how we were made

from the beginning.

Life continues to instruct –

through discomfort and pain.

It seems the most effective tool

to bring us to the necessary surrender.

I am not a fan of the process –

the reshaping and chiseling away…

but the revelations that come

reassure in ways

unmeasurable.

I yield to the master craftsman,

offering myself up for true fashioning,

despite the necessary struggles,

that the me that has always been

can be seen –

and true freedom,

finally mine.

Poem · Poetry

Taking Notes

February 21, 2018February 21, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Every morning a new lesson

with the dawning of the sun

remembering this and that from

the moments of yesterday –

the stubborn resistance

to change, to growth

that dares to color the new morning.

Oh, the many ways

my spirit settles!

It hides from the possible

underneath a blanket of

supposed comfort.

I lean towards the sun

like a rested sunflower

daring to rise.

Poem · Poetry

Begin With the Ending

February 18, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

You have already started your curtain call

and now we show up

with our unpunched tickets in hand.

Meeting you at this point

is like being presented with a gift

that has already been opened –

loved and appreciated for years –

and ready to be tucked away

for safe keeping.

All our hellos

have built in goodbyes to them.

The door to you opens

and begins closing

all at once.

We know this going in.

Time is short

and momentous.

It forces an instant connection

that is felt both ways.

We understand the courage it takes

for you at this point,

to drop your guard so quickly

for a bunch of strangers

who want to help.

And you do.

And we do.

In a way, it is kind of magical.

The delicate intimacy

that comes with sharing your ending

teaches us.

Teaches you to let go

in a meaningful way,

and teaches us what

letting go looks like.

We love this about

being with you.

Thank you for allowing us

to cut in

and share your final dance.

We promise to help you

finish it well.

Please take the lead

and show us your steps.

We will follow you

and share your curtain call.

Poem · Poetry

The Poems

February 17, 2018March 8, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

You arrive as whispers

calling sweetly in my ear,

causing me to pause and ponder –

leading me forward.

It is like the dawning of hunger

when, no matter what I am doing,

I can think of nothing else.

The urgency must be addressed.

Words must be shaped,

voiced –

labored over and delivered.

Inspiration has called to me.

Each time she visits,

I come alive a little more.

I am born

again and again –

in a blanket of words.

Why me?

I sometimes wonder…

but I open to her, anyway –

and learn to surrender again

to her message

and to what is real.

The whole dance we do

creates a hunger

that builds.

I want more.

In the meantime,

I live the poems I have.

I hold them close to me –

with pregnant anticipation,

I wait for the others.

Poem · Poetry

Be a Branch

February 17, 2018February 17, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

You come to me with searching eyes,

your shoulders slumped,

your breathing shallow.

“I need help,” you say.

I open my arms

and reach for you,

taking you into the Love,

ever-present.

Comfort flowers.

An elderly woman drops her grocery bag

and oranges and potatoes scatter

all over the road –

I run to her.

My hands get busy gathering her food.

Our eyes connect and

together we laugh.

There is no problem, anymore.

We are connected.

Everyday, situations show up

to wake us up to

who we are

and why we are here.

Most of the time,

we don’t notice.

We are too busy with ourselves,

living as if

we are on our own.

We forget that God needs us

in order to be seen,

to be realized –

and we need God.

“I am the vine.

You are the branches.”

The instruction is given:

We are deeply connected to God

and when we extend ourselves

in Love,

life blossoms as it should –

and God is at work

with us.

Nothing else makes more sense

or is as beautiful.

Be a branch.

Poem · Poetry

Long Story Short

February 10, 2018February 11, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Loving, but imperfect parents

unwittingly teach the young girl

the wrong lesson

about who she is

and what she can do.

Years pass,

the little girl grows up

with some success,

but with the wrong idea

now settled deep within –

still unknown to her,

dictating her experiences.

Suffering comes.

Suffering goes,

Suffering comes again.

The unhappy pattern

is set in place.

One beautiful day,

an opening begins.

Light and Truth show up –

along with Love and Grace –

and the little girl,

now a grown woman,

blossoms.

Healing arrives,

as insights dawn

over time.

Life begins to unfold ever more

beautifully.

Now the woman understands

who she is,

and can see what life is all about.

Gratitude opens her heart.

She understands her purpose

and she begins

to let go of the old

and allow herself

to heal

and to glow,

knowing that Love and God

are One

and woven into her.

She learns in her healing,

to get out of her own way,

and share this GodLove –

to use her new-found voice

and be Present for others,

and all is well.

She now dwells

in the land of Grace.

Nothing is a problem anymore

and Joy abounds.

The woman welcomes the whispers of Inspiration

and learns Trust.

Freedom arrives

and pain is but a memory.

She lived happily ever after

with GodLove as her guide.

Blessed be!

Poem · Poetry

The Turn

February 9, 2018February 9, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Today when I drove to work,

a window opened.

Instead of racing in my thoughts

about the day

and all the angst about

getting things done,

I took a breath.

Not a mindless one,

but a deep, conscious,

life-giving one.

And then I took another,

and a few more after that.

Then I could see again.

I could see how much tension

lived in me.

I could feel the tightness

loosen.

I looked out around me,

and I noticed the trees,

the smiles of others,

the beauty of the day.

All this,

from remembering to breathe!

Oh, I grieve the patterns and traps

of the mind

and its constant power

to distract from the good of life-

its endless power

to keep us busy and off track.

Grant me breath, O God,

and gleaming windows.

Help me to turn my attention

and see!