The Present

The month of July ended up being partially dedicated to bringing some of my medical procedures current.  I visited my dentist, and I made several trips to Kaiser for blood work, a pneumonia vaccination, and a mammogram.  

On my first trip to Kaiser, I was running a little late.  In this time of a pandemic, I find most scheduling to be a little off, but not being on time still makes me nervous. When I arrived at the front door of the medical building, I discovered everyone had to enter through the hospital.  I picked up my pace, and walked on. 

When I arrived, my intention was to move quickly through the hospital door, and once inside, get my bearings.   However, before I could put that plan into place, I was greeted by a pleasant young woman who told me that first I needed to stop by one of the outdoor hand washing stations.  I had walked right by them, but I never once thought they were there for me to actually use.  I retraced some of my steps  and placed my hands under one of the faucets.  Nothing happened.  Oh, yes.  I needed to press the pedal with my foot. After washing and drying my hands, I could then proceed.  For the second visit I was more efficient with the routine, but in the third visit, I felt a change come over me as I washed. I remembered that I was entering a place of healing.   As I dried my hands, I looked up and noticed a  pregnant young woman.  As I walked, I then saw an older woman trying to help a very frail elder get out of the passenger side of the car. Also in my view was a man walking slowly, relying on the help of a cane.  I was humbled to witness these stages of life, and to remember my own body.  I understood that the cool water, the soft foaming soap, and the rough paper towel were Communion elements.  I gave thanks as I entered the door.     

   

"When all three inner spaces [mind, heart, and body] are open and listening together, we can always be present. To be present is to know what you need to know in the moment. To be present to something is allow the moment, the person, the idea, or the situation to change you."

 Richard Rohr, Breathing Under Water, 2011, page 10. 

    

   

photograph:  San Leandro, July 2020  

    

The Workshop

Dear Friends, 

I have started what may be the beginning of the book.  Or it may be the middle.  Or it may be nothing more than a way to get things started.  My intention is to not critique too soon.  Also, to drink more green tea, which is what I am doing now.  Yes, it is tempting to add honey, but I think I shall wait on that indulgence.   

I will, however, indulge myself in the joy of reminding everyone that you are blessed and loved.   

In Gratitude, 

Sue Ann

Decide. Decide you will fulfill your highest potential. Vow you will not let another day go by that is not anchored in your divine intent. Live your spiritual life now; fall in love with your life as the creative workshop of your soul. Every day is a chance to wake up. Every day is a chance to live the divine life. To do it consciously, we must decide. 

 Ellen Grace O'Brian

   

 photograph:  San Leandro, July 2020.  This image gives me a sense of prayer. The plant is called "Arctic Summer".  It grows quite large, well over my head.  When it is in full bloom it is not uncommon to see many bees feasting on its offerings in the warm sun.  It is a gift to be able to stand before it in wonder.  We are all at the temple gate, and it is all prayer. 

        

   

The Gift of Story

Some of my posts originate as an email. I am needing to tend to that list as Google is becoming less tolerant of blind copies so I have asked people to confirm that they do want to be on the list.
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My gratitude to you who have said that you want to continue to receive emails. Many of you have journeyed with me for over a decade. As the psalmist sings in Psalm 139, "Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach." I am humbled. I actually started this practice many years ago when I was still employed in downtown San Francisco. We had an in-house computer memo system and I would often send quotes to my co-workers. I suppose it is an audacious practice, but I believe that words, pulled together in some sort of cohesive form, can be useful signposts and resting places on our journeys.

The United Church of Christ has been offering a weekly webinar, "Thursdays for the Soul." These have covered a variety of topics, and this week's offering was Rev. Catherine Foote reading a story from her book, "Shepherding the Seasons." The webinar was entitled, "Story Time and Barn Tour." I was not familiar with Rev. Foote, but I thought listening to a story might offer a gentle respite. Besides, I love barns.

Rev. Foote considers herself a shepherd of both a flock of sheep and a flock of UCC congregants. She lives about 25 miles outside of Seattle on Whidbey Island. After she spends part of her morning tending to her animals, she usually rides her motorcycle to the ferry, and after disembarking, motors on to her church in Seattle. She is not a young woman, but certainly a resourceful one. Her story gave me confidence that she is a fine shepherd, no matter who she is tending.

I wept for an hour. The story she read was one of searching for a lost lamb. Her assistant was a loyal and determined Border Collie. It had a happy ending, and she even took her computer outside so we could see some of her sheep, including the lamb that lost its way. I was reminded of Jesus who tells us that the lost will be searched for. I was also reminded of his tendency to teach by telling a story. That is certainly how many of us learn valuable lessons. I pray parents and grandparents are still sharing stories with their children. We need to give Wisdom a voice.

This morning I am still a little weepy. I think I am finally at the point where I dare to return to my own writings and try to tend to them, maybe as a good shepherd would. I have dared to enroll in a writer's workshop that will be offered by Pilgrim Press in October. I have also applied for some one to one guidance. For this, I will need to submit four or five pages of my writing by the end of August.

So dear friends, I may be asking for feedback along the way, and you will no doubt be reading meditations you might have read before. I thank you in advance.

Blessings as you tend to those you love.

The photograph was taken here in San Leandro in July of 2020. I am drawn to it because it makes me feel that I am looking at a vast and strange landscape. Maybe someday I will be fortunate enough to take some pictures of some sheep. I do find them intriguing.    

   

Patience at the Gate (Revisited)

Yesterday, I was cleaning some emails, and I came across this post I sent in 2016.  I think we are all being called to sing a new song, to be a new way in this world. Our lives can be a hymn of praise and gratitude.   

 

I did make a few edits to the text in the spirit of clarity and I deleted the original quote to include the beautiful Psalm 100.  It is probably time to revisit my writing, do some editing, and collect them in a more organized way.  

 

The photograph was taken this week in San Leandro.  The dahlia is the official flower of San Leandro. They are a jubilant flower.   

  

August 19, 2016

A few days ago I visited someone I knew from a church I attended some years ago. She is currently residing in a skilled nursing community that I had not visited since the beginning of my time with SpiritCare. I had hoped to start the ministry there, but the director was not interested in a worship service.  

 

 I don't think the home has changed much at all in ten years, except that now the front door is locked.  As I approached the threshold, a caregiver said, "Sweetie, please wait here." In addition to being the greeter, she was maneuvering one of the residents off a bus and into the home.  The resident looked at me and let out a stream of expletives that was surprising.  The caregiver stopped, and asked the resident to apologize. She grumpily complied.  Truthfully, I was more miffed at being called "Sweetie" than by the unfiltered language.  However, I also realized we were all doing the best we could. Wearing a collar continues to teach me patience, and I am grateful.    

 

Eventually, I found the person I was trying to visit, and her laughter brought back many warm memories of our time together years ago when we sang together in choir.  As we got caught up on some of our comings and goings, she mentioned the resident who is always cursing.  "I finally turned to her one day and told her that it was time for her to learn a new song."  She laughed her delightful laugh and said that since then the woman had not said anything at all to her. She is fine with the silence.  

 

Even when dementia is not present, all of us run the risk of repeating the same statements over and over, and too often our thoughts are not positive.  Let us follow the psalmist's encouragement to enter the gates of today with songs of thanksgiving and joy. Let us try singing, and being the new song that the world is so aching to hear.     

  

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
 come before God with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
 It is he who made us, and we are his;
  we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
 and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
 God's faithfulness continues through all generations.    

  

Psalm 100, NIV   

  

These Times

"Offer sacrifice in the right spirit and trust in the Lord."   

Psalm 4:5   

    

These times call for the reading of the Psalms.  I know many of us do not care for the word or the idea of sacrifice, but every day we are being asked to put aside our personal whims for the good of others. We can be courageous and trust in the belief that our sacrifices will not be in vain.  We can do this because God is leading us to healing in every moment.  Our sacrifices need not be made grudgingly; they can be made in love.     

   

"We must realize that we cannot be really fed, strengthened, purified, enriched and made holy unless we fulfill the duties of the present moment."  

 

Abandonment to Divine Providence  

Jean-Pierre de Caussade    

  

photograph:  San Leandro, 2020   

  

  

SpiritCare Weekly Meditation, July 9, 2020

During the pandemic I have been sending a weekly meditation to the activity directors of the communities I used to visit in person.  Some include these meditations in their weekly newsletters, and some read the meditations out loud to their residents.  Some, no doubt, sigh, roll their eyes and simply delete.  However, I receive enough thank you notes that lead me to believe they are being received in the spirit that they are sent: that is, of course, love.  

The text below seems quite timely for us all, so I thought I would send it to you.  Blessings in this time.   At the moment I am listening to some wonderful African music.  The attached image seems to be dancing along.  Not exactly the green hills strewn with colorful flowers that I envision in Isaiah, but close enough. 

 

Love to you all in this time and always.     

---------- Forwarded message --------

Hello Everyone, 

July is underway. I pray this note finds you well, and everyone is staying cool during the warm afternoons.  Blessings on your work, and may you be finding time to enjoy the summer season while tending to your work and caring for your families and yourselves.  You are in our prayers.  Please let us know if there is a need we might be able to help with. You are loved and held.    

   

Scripture:  Isaiah 55:12-13    

Yes, you will go out with celebration and you will be brought back in peace.
Even the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you;

all the trees of the field will clap their hands. In place of the thorn the cypress will grow in place of the nettle the myrtle will grow.
This will attest to the Lord’s stature, an enduring reminder that won’t be removed.

     

Meditation:  

This afternoon I found myself in the text of Isaiah, and pondering its beautiful words of encouragement.  This text speaks to those who may be in isolation or feel exiled from those they love. Here we hear God's assurance that we have not been forgotten.  We also hear that we can look forward to being gathered together in celebration and peace. Furthermore, we will not be celebrating alone; all of life will rejoice with us. Even the trees will be clapping and there will be music everywhere.  Aren't these beautiful images?  I wish I were a painter.  I would paint dancing trees, emerald green hills, and a beautiful river.  I would include all kinds of flowers, and yes, the blooming myrtle.  I just read that the myrtle is the Hebrew symbol for marriage.  God is declaring that his relationship with us will endure the test of time. We belong to God and to one another forever.    

We are often impatient for our time of exile to be over.  However, in chapter 55:8, we hear God telling us that our ways and not God's ways.  What I am hearing is that God is telling us to be patient, and to let God be God.  We are often tempted to plead and demand our case with God. We feel we know exactly what we need.  Yet, it is not God's way to always give us what we think we need right when we think we need it. That is the way of a child.  We may be fussy now, but we will be brought back in peace.  Let us not waste time in doubt and worry, but rather in prayer and preparation for the time when all will be revealed in song and celebration.  Let us have the courage to believe these wonderful words of life.        

    

Prayer:  

Holy Eternal God, we thank you that you speak to us of encouragement.  You know at times we struggle with patience, even to the point where our faith begins to fray. We thank you for your forgiveness, and your steadfast love that never lets us go.  Holy One, continue to stir our hearts in this time.  We thank you for those who tend to our care.  May we remember that we all wait together.  Yet in this waiting, you give us the bread of life and the cup of salvation.  You offer us reconciliation at the table of Christ that is always set before us. May we be content, knowing that your vast love is unlimited, and such love can fill our hearts to overflowing if we say yes to the invitation to rest and trust completely in your love.     

 In Christ we gratefully pray, Amen.    

 

Revisiting

In this elegant poem (which I originally sent in 2006!), Tagore refers to God as Father.  However we call on God is a deeply personal matter so make this prayer your own. I think this is what the poet is encouraging us to do.   

 Our 4th of July is quiet right now.  Tyler is giving the dog a bath.  I cleaned the kitchen.  I hear neither traffic nor fireworks, only bird calls.  A day of health and abundance. I am grateful.  May your day unfold beautifully and fearlessly.  Let us tread gently on this beautiful earth for it is life.    

Where The Mind Is Without Fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, [Holy One], let my country awake.

   

   

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)   

  

photograph:  San Leandro, August 2018