Monthly Archives: November 2022

To Uncover

Front porch sitting is the best kind of sitting
for discerning the simple from the complex.

Diamonds live along the roadways of the journey.
Moses took years before deciding on his path.

Let the little ones crawl on their way to finding
what interests them most in the moment.

Not all clues need to be discovered.  Some
are best left for the children to uncover.

Cherish the friend who knows the difference
between sharing and listening with the heart.

Then, and not only then, will you find support
for each other on the long walk towards home.

More Clues

Outside you go -
And if you are able
Look on the table.

Since you're outside
Look by the slide!

Go to the porch
That's the thing!
Could you find a clue
Near the swing?

A piggy by the door -
Is it in the back?
Holds another clue
For you to track.

Inside again,
Take a deep breath.
A clue awaits
Under a blue toy chest.

Watch Snow White,
And Peter Pan, too!
Under a chew toy
A clue waits for you!

You are almost done -
Two "Poohs" wait for you
In Balyn's room
Is a treasure for you.

               - Cynthia Nelson

Wisdom for the Day

Use the moment to temper with love.
The sun does not suddenly appear in the sky
but rises with care over the horizon.
Breathe deeply before any expostulation.
Save unnecessary challenges for the grave.
It is okay if your list is different from all others.
Question for clarity.  Challenge to break comfort.
Cherish the energy created in difference.
Faith and doubt will always lay down together.
Smile when the world comes crumbling down
and hope for your phoenix to rise once again.
Awake and remember: A treasure hunt begins!

And he did the same with the cup after supper… – Luke 22:20

Holy Host and Divine Server,
who shares a table with no boundaries,
break the bread of life in our midst;
lift the cup of salvation to our lips;
for we keep scrambling to satisfy
our security needs with little time
to tend our need for truth 
which can carry us into the next age
where want and need
and where wants and needs
come together in one cup
from which we all drink together.
Amen.

The Great Thanksgiving

Take the great loaf of life
as if it is the last and greatest
wonderful paradox of the moment.

Offer thanks, awkwardly at first,
and then, perhaps, with more 
boldness since your soul remains.

Break open the bread as if all
the constrictions of the world
are nothing but whispy threads.

Give generously to all those who
have chosen to fall down after sensing
something greater than themselves.

Stumble and Fall

Watching my daughter fall for the umpteenth time,
her head meeting the coffee table, I gasp.  Each
of her little spills as she toddles from here to there
seem to take more time off my life.  I ask the gods
to give me a little bit of the suffering and pain
to carry along with me as I toddle down my list
of daily to-do's.  I also wonder, who is there 
to bear my pain when I stumble and fall?

“By your endurance you will gain your souls.” – Luke 21:19

Lord of the Race,
Keeper of Time,
who, breathing, breathlessly 
holds all Creation together;
we gasp for breath
having only taken
a few small steps to keep up
with our neighbor's neighbor;
fearing for our trammeled souls
molded by beaten paths,
we seek not only a way
but the gumption
to get on with it
so as to endure.
Amen.

Porch Swing

She made new green coverings 
for the swing that seats two
which I hung on the front porch.
Undisturbed peace wraps around us
as now we move gently back and forth
looking forward to the coffee
silently brewing in the kitchen.
A neighbor passes.  Greetings exchange
with greetings.  Morning smiles appear.
Neither my beloved nor I wander 
into abstract ideals in our conversation.
Rather we create devotion by pointing
to the sunlight dancing around the leaves.
Let civilization plod its own path.
In this moment of today there is no time
for dancing along the fine line
of challenge and comfort.  And visions can
wait to develop.   There is no immediacy
to share in a world where certainty
needs each movement swinging between
now and forever.