A Quiet Moment

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You, and I
will look up.   Psalm 5:3

Creator Of All Life

Creator Of All Life,

As the seasons shift now ~
everywhere I see signs of Your creative power.

I behold Your glory in the tiniest bud
that bursts forth from the dark earth
searching for the light.

I see Your beauty unfolding
as the first radiant flower of the Spring.

Every tree stands ready to begin
the dance of new beginnings
as their leaves form ever stronger.

And so it is, that something stirs within me too ~
~ awakening me to the blessings of each new day
~ receiving the abundance of the glory You display
~ magnificence in all creation sings as I bow to pray.

Creator Of All Life,
Thank you for Your Beauty.
My heart sings out Your praise!

~ Morning Prayers of Anna Lin

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Returning To Love

For many churches in the Christian tradition, today is Ash Wednesday.
The common scripture passage is from Joel 2: 1-13 with words that say:

But now, now, says the LORD,
Come back to me with all your heart. . .
Return to the LORD, your God,
for he is all tenderness and compassion,
slow to anger, and rich in steadfast love.

We need to know this ~ not just on this one day of the year ~
but on every day ~ at every moment of our lives.
Whenever we feel separate from the Divine Source ~
it is not God who has left us ~ but we who have strayed
from our source of love and compassion.
Our God is earnestly inviting us to come back into a
full relationship in order that we might be deeply loved, cherished,
and provided for our every need.

Even as whole nations we can wander off the path of truth and life.
Let us hear the voice of gracious Love that calls to us today.
“Come back to me with all your heart, dear people.”

This is worth remembering always.

~ Anna Lin

Gentle Spirit

Spirit of Gentleness,

Flow through each moment of this day with me.

Whisper the words of grace and peace that will
calm my fears and heal my soul.

Fill me with hope to see a future bright with promise
for my life.

Nurture my dreams to grow stronger in Christ-like love.

And may I ever listen to your guidance through this day,
trusting that God’s will on earth shall now be done.

Amen

~ Morning Prayers of Anna Lin

 

Gracious Wisdom

“Somehow I feel sure that the most direct route to religious experience is to ask for the grace to give, to share, to console another, to bandage a hurting wound, to lift a fallen human spirit, to mend a quarrel, to search out a forgotten friend, to dismiss a suspicion and replace it with trust, to encourage someone who has lost faith, to let someone who feels helpless do a favor for me, to keep a promise, to bury an old grudge, to reduce my demands on others, to fight for a principle, to express gratitude, to overcome a fear, to appreciate the beauty of nature, to tell others I love them, and then to tell them again.”

– John Powell, S.J.
in Through Seasons of the Heart

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Camas Lilies

Consider the lilies of the field,
the blue banks of camas
opening into acres of sky along the road.
Would the longing to lie down
and be washed by that beauty
abate if you knew their usefulness,
how the natives ground their bulbs
for flour, how the settlers’ hogs
uprooted them, grunting in gleeful
oblivion as the flowers fell?

And you — what of your rushed
and useful life? Imagine setting it all down —
papers, plans, appointments, everything —
leaving only a note: “Gone
to the fields to be lovely. Be back
when I’m through with blooming.”

Even now, unneeded and uneaten,
the camas lilies gaze out above the grass
from their tender blue eyes.
Even in sleep your life will shine.
Make no mistake. Of course
your work will always matter.
Yet Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.

~ Lynn Ungar

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