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

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

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!

Poem · Poetry

Count It All Joy

February 7, 2018February 19, 2018 becomingandbeholding10 Comments

He laid in his hospital bed

set up next to his wife’s bed –

his hands contracted

and useless,

his body dependent

on the help of others –

just to move at all,

or eat, or even

brush his teeth.

This bed has been his dwelling place

for over five years,

his disease shrinking and stiffening his body,

rendering his muscles

unworkable –

keeping him confined,

and stuck.

He is one of my favorite patients.

His eyes always sparkle,

his mind is unfailingly engaged,

his words ever generous.

“I am a lucky guy.”

This is the song he sings

no matter what pain may be present

or loss on the forefront.

“I have no complaints.”

Before him,

on his bookcase,

are about 50 journal books

he has filled

with reflections and illustrations

of his weekly walks in the woods

as he observed and gloried

in the wonders of nature.

“Nature used to be my religion.

And then I found God.”

This was life pre-diagnosis.

When I look at him,

a prisoner in his bed and so small,

I am grateful

he had a former life

of movement and joy

in Nature and beyond this room.

“I am a lucky guy,”

he states again and again,

and I marvel at

how he glows.

He has an understanding

that I hope is within reach for me.

He knows

that everyone has “something”

and this is his.

“The way I figure it,” he states,

“God put me here for a reason.

And when anyone comes to see me,

I hope I can be a light for them.

I hope I can make them happy.”

He radiates

effortlessly and profoundly

and I cannot help

but be changed.

He shows me the way

to what is real.

I begin to understand

the gift of joy

in all circumstances

and the suffering that comes

with resisting

what lies before us.

As I say goodbye,

He says,

“I hope I will see you again.”

I smile.

Oh, you will.

You will.

Poem · Poetry

Bit by Bit

February 3, 2018February 3, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

Her vision widens a bit

this time

as she enters her day

in the same old way.

Perhaps something new will dawn.

His heart dares to stretch

and open a bit wider.

A new kind of surrender

peeks through the song of pain

on constant rewind.

Life itself can open us

to what is real and true,

if allowed.

We discover this

when we trust enough

to peek

from under the many covers

we have pulled over our head.

With each new glimpse,

we allow the Creator

to fashion us more artfully

beyond the many ways

we have allowed our clay

to harden.

Soften or harden?

Open or close?

Yield or tighten the grip?

Ignore or listen?

These are the daily choices

in finding the path

to Grace.

Pay attention.

Poem · Poetry

Christmas Present

December 23, 2017December 23, 2017 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

A new dawning

has been gifted this Christmas.

Beyond the ribbons and bows,

the lights and sparkle,

is a deeply hidden present.

It is wrapped in illumination

and sacred text and story.

Why is it hidden,

this beautiful gift?

It has been buried

by our own distraction

with the hustle and bustle,

the stress and need

to make Christmas special

by our own means –

as if we could control

the gift.

We miss the point.

We speed past the Truth.

We look away from the infant,

tiny and helpless –

completely dependent,

wrapped in Love.

Little baby Jesus was born

to show us the way –

how to Be.

There is no need to

control, construct, or solve

Christmas –

or life.

All is in place.

What we need is to be humble enough

to receive the goodness

God holds for each of us.

We are but infants.

Embracing this Humility with gratitude

is Christmas delivered –

and it is a miracle

when it is received.