Of Poetry and Prayer

yesterday's scene far from the maddening crowd

 

 

 

 

the crowds 

chanted 

and waved

littering the street with branches

as the town shook with excitement

and i wonder

what exactly was accomplished that day

because i know 

where the crowd was

a few days later

After a day of watching noisy crowds all day yesterday, I wrote the above 10 lines as one of many "10 lines" I've written since the beginning of the Lenten Season.  I post them on my Facebook page.  This morning, a person I respect commented that he read my "prayers" and added, "If it were up to me, I would gather them into a collection  But that's just me."  

I thought about that word prayer.  I thought my 10 lines more poetry than prayer.  But then I read these lines from Bodmin Hermit on  Twitter:  "The heart of prayer is not to be found in the recitation of many words but in opening ourselves to a different level of consciousness which the Christian tradition calls the contemplative mind, or the mind of Christ." 

Maybe poetry and prayer.

are more closely related than I realized!

The Highlighting

A friend posted this on her Facebook page this morning.

The responses followed.

I was interested to observe that the majority

commented and inquired about the beverage.

Only one referred to the

highlighting.

This, I believe, may be indicative of the fact

that we still have lessons to learn from the current crisis.

Maybe I'm wrong...

Attention!

I chose a vintage recipe box to hold my hastily labeled dividers--

using the back side of some old alphabet ones.

A number and a word for 31 days.

I'll be using this system to gather quotes, notes and Scripture verses

throughout the year.

By the end of the year, this practice which I began during Advent 2019

just may be material for a book.

Maybe!

Here's my journal entrance for the 11th of January

which corresponds to the word "ATTENTION"

"Pay it!" I tell myself,

and proceeded to plan accordingly this morning.

How is YOUR new year unfolding?

But That's Another Story

You may remember (I did!)

when I posted this photo a few days ago and drew attention to the 25A 

on the bottom left hand page of my journal.

I concluded that particular post with the words,

but that's another story.

I'd been selecting words for each day of Advent--

SPONTANEITY being one for the 25th.

Well, I've decided to add three to the 28

and try to focus on one to correspond to each day

of each month on 2020.

The words I selected in 2019 were

Hospitality, Beauty, Listen, Patience, Peace, Longing,

Availability, Vigilance, Intentionality, Obedience,

Attention, Simplicity, Humility, Silence,

Discernment, Moderation, Courage, Confidence, Compassion, 

Purity, Faithfulness, Clarity,

Dignity, Generosity, Spontaneity, Emptiness,

Serenity, Joy.

While typing these out just now,

I've already selected #29.

Authenticity.

***

So, it begins.

Today?  The first day of the new year.

The new decade!

And THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.

***

Hospitality.

Hallelujah!

 

 It was a first for us--my sisters and me

 and their husbands...

 We sang from the balcony of this beautiful Lutheran  church.

 I went with my humble, personal copies

of the oratorio.

I noticed a great variety of covers 

among those used by my fellow musicians.

After posting mine on Facebook this morning,

my friend sent a photo
of her two copies

to which I responded,

I find the covers of the Messiah so interesting...

No matter their age, they are "dignified" somehow; 

suited for their significant content.

***

No sooner were the words typed

than I realized this is true about more than Messiah covers!

It is a Life Lesson!  A goal, as it were...

Lord, let my outward appearance--my cover--be similarly "dignified";

suited for my significant content...

for indeed I contain the Light of Jesus Christ Himself! 

Hallelujah!

My friend's copies...

In the Backseat

Usually alone in the back seat.  Not THIS time!

 This quote from one very gifted, contemporary author 

sums up my life the past three years...
"How surprising to discover that devotion to God often grows best from the backseat, 

in hidden years, and in deserts." (Alicia Britt Chole)
Since my father came to live with us, 

I spend most travel time in the back seat!
Often alone.

It has provided an interesting perspective.
I'm not sure how to measure growth in devotion to God, 

but I AM trusting in His power and ability to "grow" me...

Domestic Monastery

 It arrived today, and by late afternoon I had read it!  Short and packed. 

Excellent in STYLE.  Encouraging in SUBSTANCE.

Style-wise, author Ronald Rolheiser writes gently.

I found myself underlining softly, 

writing faint notes in the columns--

whispering as it were in response to the firm, quiet wisdom contained on the pages.

Style-wise, the illustrations were also quiet.

Plenteous.  Well-placed.  Reverent.

Style-wise, Rolheiser skillfully strings together phrases for optimum impact.  

For instance:  "Monastic prayer is simple, often rote, has a clear durational expectancy, and is structured to allow each monk the freedom to invest himself or hold back, in terms of energy and heart, depending upon his disposition on a given day." p. 43

Style-wise, the author chooses excellent illustrations for clarity.

These include the piano keyboard and a woman who visits her elderly mother in a nursing home.

And what can I say about substance?

Whether a faithful young mother or an aging reader such as I,

here is an invitation to monastery 

("a place set apart, period...a place to learn the value of powerlessness 

and a place to learn that time is not ours, but God's.") p 18

While I read all ten chapters with interest, those dealing with prayer,

time, the tensions of life, and the seasons of life 

were the four most challenging to me in this initial reading.

Ritual, rhythm, and routine are explained and recommended as essential

to the sane, simple, and sacred life I desire.

I WILL be reading it again.

Thanks to Pareclete Press for my copy.

wwwparacletepress.com

Putting on a Front

For several weeks now, I've slowed down

to see the progress on this new house.

While plain siding is the finish 

on the sides (and I presume, back) of the house,

the front is covered with
 brick AND stone AND Shaker-style shingles!

I call this "putting on a front".

The Urban Dictionary describes this phrase as 

'putting on a fake or false personality not keeping it real."

Putting on a front is currently the style on houses these days.

When it is being fake in personality or personal appearance,

it's less desirable, I think...

It is right, therefore, that we not just be called Christians, but that we actually be Christians.

Ignatius of Antioch

Contrasts

I accidentally posted the story

behind this photo on my other blog.
I'm too exasperated/impatient to repeat it here.

Suffice it to say,
THIS day was quite a contrast to the Pony Parade experience!
Contrasts are what make life interesting.
Routines are what keep it sane.
I do life best with a balance of both.
At MY stage of life, I'm finding it takes more routines
to balance the contrasts....

I Respond...

"Go home and love your family,"

These words from Saint and Mother.

The world still scrambles frantically--

It's peace is sadly smothered.

Activity's a faulty substitute

For actual, lasting peace.

Go home then.  Love more simply

By presence, word, and deed.

(rlg, for Feast Day of Saint Teresa, 2019)

Changed

Changed the light bulbs,

changed the room;

changed the seasonings,

changed the taste;

changed the routine,

changed the day;

changed the translation,

changed my comprehension;

changed my attitude,

changed my emotions;

changed my diet,

changed my health.

Yesterday and Today

Raindrops were my company--

too many to count.

For a full hour they buffered me

from a crowd of people

who would note my physical absence or presence

but never the "me" inside.

...

This morning as I reflect on this situation,

I realize my absence is my cry

to be known;

to be loved;

to belong.

...

It also became abundantly clear to me

that I am 70 years old

and embarrassed to be so 

insecure and immature.  

SIGH.

Should I be surprised that quite randomly
(or perhaps NOT so randomly)

this cartoon appeared on my Facebook page?

"My Genesee"

 

A dear friend died recently.

He was a poet.

It was my privilege to type out a bookful of his handwritten poems.

A few days after he died, I promised myself to honor him by honing my own, feeble poetic inclinations.

Below is today's attempt to respond to the book that lies at my bedside.  The writings of Henri Nouwen continue to be a source of spiritual challenge and inspiration to me...

from my journal page

Overcoming Negativity

 This meme was well-timed.  

Not only was I spending some time with a negative person or two,

I found myself becoming increasingly one myself.

(It IS my tendency.)

And so, while in conversation with a friend about this,

I had the idea to wear a rubber band around my wrist

and snap myself each time I caught myself

thinking a negative thought--

or having spoken one.

(You can see that I selected a pony-tail band...)

Already, it has helped!

I recommend it!

Living Woke

Living Woke

At the age

of seventy years

and four months,

I woke--

not in the vernacular

but the traditional sense.

Awaken.

Bestir oneself.

Get going.

Come alive.

Rouse.

With less time

to live woken

than yesterday,

I put sleep behind me

and rise from the dead

in Ephesians 5:14 style.

Woken.

Again.

About Prayer

My phone broke this morning and I can't get it to a repair shop until Monday so I will be out of communication for at least the next couple of days. Pray that it is fixable; I really don't want to have to buy a new one!

So came the Facebook message from a missionary friend in Indonesia.  I shuttered realizing how out of touch and discombobbled I'd feel if it happenened to me here in my comfortable, familiar environment.

I started to respond with something "spiritual", like "Aren't you glad communication with God is never broken?"

I deleted that when I remembered Psalm 66:18.  Instead I sent a sad-faced emoji alongside praying hands.  Then I did a heart-check and prayed for her.

It's a concept about prayer that I sometimes forget.  I'm so thankful the Heavenly Father forgives my acknowledged and confessed sin.  I'm thankful I don't have to wait until Mondays to experience restored communication!

As the Moon Sets

The lesser light

It shines so bright.

No light its own;

Nor does it know.

"He must increase; I must decrease." (John the Baptist)

One Old Lady's Perspective on Technology

One more podcast

One more link

"Cut time online"

"Don't miss a beat"

It's quite contradictory, don't you think?

"Follow me, text me"

Until I'm perplexed

Whatever are they going to

Think of posting next?

In my aging viewpoint

It's getting out of hand

In the country, in the town,

In the church, and all across our land. 

Only so many hours

In a person's day.

How did we survive

Before technology came to play?

Spa Day today.  Not in the usual sense of pampering, but satisfaction of time well spent, invested, productive, varied, and intentional.

My men are away for a couple of days freeing me to use my time differently than normal.

The balance of time spent with friends, a bit of music therapy (as I called it), tackling a large typing project, finishing a book I'd started, and eating healthy meals makes me smile as I reflect on the full day I've enjoyed.

Thanks be to God.

All the Time

She (to me):  You see beauty in "everyday" things.

Me (to her):  All. The. Time.  Yes, I do!

There's NO beauty like God's!