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Spiritual dehydration

  Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that is where I renew my springs that never dry up. –Pearl S. Buck   The past two years (at least) have been exhausting, haven’t they? We had a pandemic that physically left us anxious and afraid. Our churches, where we go for nourishment, were closed or online longer than we wanted—and even now, we are careful. Politically, we have been divided against one another, and those wounds are still bleeding in many cases. We need to take care of ourselves. And it’s never been more difficult. What to do? How do I make time in our busy schedules—for me ? The simple answer: Whatever it takes. Remember when we would fly to a vacation destination? How the flight attendant would remind us that if the cabin loses pressure, the oxygen masks would drop down out of the ceiling? And that before we offer to help anyone else, we need to have our own masks in place ? Good advice for life in general. Today: Pause. Take inventory of everyt
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Different is Good!

  Festivals promote diversity, they bring neighbors into dialog, they increase creativity, they offer opportunities for civic pride, they improve our general psychological well-being. In short, they make cities better places to live. –David Binder   This weekend is Pride Weekend in many cities, including mine. Some years, we have gone to watch the parade. One year, folks invited us to walk with their church group—so we did. And I am so grateful. I will always remember. . . . A parade like this always looks different from the ranks than from the sidelines. From the sidelines, we never would have seen the Guardian Angels. Every year, every Pride Parade draws groups that try to spread a vile message of hate from the sidelines. In Cleveland, they are required to have a permit, and are confined to a particular spot along the route (thank goodness). And every time these folks show up with their messages of hate, the Guardian Angels bring Love. Dressed in white, with what appear t
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Are you even listening???

  Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. –Leo Buscaglia Ever wonder what God is doing? (All the time. . . .) I mean, we learn from the Bible and from our Sunday school teachers that we are made in God’s likeness, so we turn that around to mean if we have eyes, then God must have eyes, and if we have ears, God must have ears. Right? So why is it, then, that so often when we pray, it feels like God just doesn’t seem to be listening? Or if God is listening, then God must not really care, after all? It seems that way, doesn’t it, when all we want is peace of mind, peace of spirit, peace for the whole world—and we keep speaking the same prayers, over and over. Maybe God just needs to hear them one more time , or by one more person . . . . Do you really believe this? That God is waiting for our prayers to hit a magic number
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God's portal

  No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. –Helen Keller In popular science fiction and fantasy movies, there is always a portal, some unseen opening that allows the main characters to travel from one time or place to another, arriving unexpectedly. You know. In Harry Potter , it’s Platform 9-3/4. In A Wrinkle in Time , the amazing tesseract literally causes a fold in the space time continuum. The wonder is, when they arrive elsewhere, frequently it is as if no one even notices or questions how they got there ! There are, I believe, portals God uses in the world, places God shows up completely unexpected—and in that moment, we don’t even notice. These portals give us glimpses of God’s perfection, that’s ours to be embraced, not just in the hereafter, but in the here-and-now. God’s portals are everywhere. Places where the goodness of God’s spirit, flowing from willing hands and hearts, mak
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Useless. Not worthless.

  Prayer as an articulate way of being useless in the face of God brings a smile to all we do and creates humor in the midst of our occupations and preoccupations. –Henri J. M. Nouwen   Sometimes, when our lives become so filled with busy , prayer can begin to feel like just one more task we need to do. Pray those words; offer those needs. Check that box and get back to work. Truth is, prayer is far, far more than that. Prayer can (and should) be a time to rest, set aside the cares and concerns of the world, and try to simply be . Do nothing. Let God frame the space, and in being of no use to the world for a time, we again realize just how valuable we are to the One who created us! It’s true. As much as it might feel like we should be the one driving our prayer time, quiet moments become far more enjoyable when we allow God to take the wheel (or Jesus J ). Whether you can handle an hour, or barely ten minutes, set aside time every day, if possible, to rest in silence wi
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God is . . . (And God is NOT!)

  I remember a story about a Rabbi during a natural disaster. He was asked how he could explain such a tragic act of God. The Rabbi answered that the disaster was an act of nature. The act of God occurred when people stepped up to help each other. –Jerry Butcher If you are really looking for answers, it just might be that God isn’t the best place to start. On the one hand, believers (like me) will tell you there is a Being, Something that is, indeed, all-powerful. But then the skeptic, or realist, will ask a question like the one above. How can a truly all-powerful god allow stuff like wars, and famines, and even pandemics to happen on their watch? I think the key word there is allow . As human beings, we cannot have both a large and completely in-charge God and free will to control our own lives day to day. Because I have a sense of God’s Spirit at work in my own life, I truly believe when things like wars and famines and even pandemics happen, God’s heart breaks, just
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What are you waiting for?

  The waiting is the hardest part. –Tom Petty   We spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for the coffee to finish dripping. Waiting for the light to turn green. Waiting for the next available agent. It’s inevitable, really. We cannot always be first, and if we aren’t first, we’ll have to wait. But I think the more important thing is to ask yourself: How am I at waiting? Do I find myself getting anxious and fidgety? Am I worrying about things not going the way I really need them to go? Is my attitude rubbing off on people around me? The best way to wait is not to worry where we are in line, or gripe about wasted time. The best way to wait—is to be right there , in the moment of waiting. The disciples waited in fear; we wait in hope. Why not use this waiting time to pray? Welcome God’s presence into your heart. Ask God to bring you into the moment. Inquire what God would ask of you in this moment . Thank God for wisdom, patience, humor. . . . Take a d-e-e-e-p br
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