WATER BLESSINGS

While out watering our beautiful, blessed garden the other day, I once again realized just how wonderful water is. Here I am, sprinkling water on all the colors of our garden, while the water itself made its own rainbow of colors. The water was vibrant, letting everything be showered with new life. Yes, new life, as the moisture let everything revive from the baking heat into being strong once again.
My thoughts drifted as I continued to bring my thirsty plants back to life. I began to think of the vast amounts of water our world has. The beautiful ocean is such a spiritual entity for me. Though I seldom have the chance to visit the sea, I love to sit by its edge, imagining all the life it holds,. From where I contemplated with my thoughts about this, I knew I couldn’t actually see all what the magnificent waters held. But I believed, not seeing. I smiled, visualizing activity under the blue-green waters. There would be those rainbows of colors, supplied by God, making each living plant and animal dependent upon one another.
As the days passed, I have still continued to think about what water does for us. It brings my own self back to life when I thirst, and gives me tremendous strength as I feel the sensations of it as I do my daily workout at the pool. I can’t stay away from it. I want to continue to feel the soothing effects it provides me as I glide from one place to another in the water. My smile comes back, as I thank God for giving me the privilege to feel the water upon me, both internally and externally.
While moving in the water, praying and meditating my thoughts to God, I am reminded how my life began with water. I received the baptismal water, which created its own beautiful rainbow of new life for me. I was blessed in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. What joys opened up for me, to know the strength to carry me in my faith and my life began at that very moment. The Holy Spirit resided within me, and through God, Jesus was always there to protect me, to carry me and walk beside me. The world was not black and white anymore, but filled with every color of the rainbow, as I was surrounded with love.
The water is pure and clear. It is silent as it gives life to the gardens, to life in the seas and to my own life. Yet, what a loud resonance it makes, giving all in our world the life God provides for us.

(I have published this before, but my audience was little then, so am publishing it again.)

BUSY, BUSY

I have not been keeping up with my writing. This is not good, as it indicates I am not growing spiritually. God has not been able to fill me with His words because I have not taken the time to listen to Him. I have put other things first. Reflecting on what I have been doing, other than my normal routine, leaves my mind blank. It indicates I have put trivial things before praying with God, so trivial I do not even remember what they were.
It is quite easy to get too involved with the mundane executions of daily life. Sleeping an extra hour, reading the two newspapers and solving the daily puzzles as I sip my tea, tending to the dogs and picking up the house are only a few activities on how I fill my day.I am embarrassed to say how long I may stay on the computer, or trying to fix a problem this laptop gives me. One daughter wants me only to text message her from my cell, wasting another bit of time. Why do I give in? Because no matter how much I try to call instead, she will not pick up the phone. I toss it back and forth, asking myself, which will take the least amount of time, to text or to keep trying to call her. Since this is her only bit of rebellion as a teenager, I go along.
Back to what I was saying, on not having my time with God. I do talk about God a lot, conducting classes five days a week, sometimes twice a day. I make my lesson plans, being well prepared. However, this still is not giving me the special time God and I need together, just the two of us. I have managed to put Him on the back burner. Prayer time while I do my routine at the pool has been eliminated. This is hurting God in two ways; I am not having my talk time with Him and I am not taking care of the body He has given me. I preach to others about obeying the Two Great Commandments of loving God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind, and loving my neighbor as myself. He has blessed me with a beautiful spirit, intertwined with His, yet I am not nourishing it, tending to it so I may continue to grow in my love for Him. I have managed to place many obstacles in the path, preventing His love and kindness to prosper within my soul.
I must return to practicing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, those of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control. It is okay to quit rushing to meet my self-made expectations. Maybe I will be able to cross everything off on my list of things to do, but what good is it if I have made no time for God? He is part of me in everything I do, yet I do not pause to praise Him and His mighty works. A dark void will overpower me if I continue to live my life this way. Maybe this has already happened to people I pass on the street, why they are not smiling and their eyes are sad.
Prayer needs to be my focal point,forgetting about those things on my list that I want to check off. Instead, 'pray' should be written at the top, middle and end of my list! Recently, I came across a “Three Minute Prayer,” by Father Lukefahr. In the first minute,he says to think about a wonderful blessing you have received in the past 24 hours. Thank God for this blessing. In the second minute, think about a significant failing you had in the past 24 hours. Ask Jesus to forgive you. In the third minute, think about a challenge you are to meet in the next 24 hours, praying to the Holy Spirit to help and guide you as you accept the challenge. As for my challenge,I ask the Holy Spirit to help me erase the obstacles I have placed on the path to prayer. Let Him guide me, as I pray to Jesus for forgiveness, not making God my priority. May I put one foot in front of the other, taking small steps, allowing me to feel His presence as I open up the door to let Him in.

JESUS AND THE CLOCK

I have mentioned Brian before, age three, in my writings. I cannot imagine him ever not being able to talk. He has been verbal, talking in full sentences, forever! I never tire of what he has to say to me. During several of our many conversations, he excitedly pointed to the clock, telling me Jesus was in there. He persevered for several weeks, saying how Jesus was behind those hour and minute hands. I could not figure out what where he got this idea, but I went along, saying how nice that was.
Remaining puzzled, I did wonder what he meant. Questioning him brought no answers. Nonetheless, I was happy he was still telling me about Jesus. It is never too young for a little one to begin a love for Him. Usually, I do not get a chance to visit with his mother, but one day, she happened to mention to me that she had been trying to tell Brian how Jesus was wrapped in a cloth after He died, but he kept thinking his mommy was talking about a clock!
Now it all made sense! I laughed, telling her how often he had told me about Jesus being in the clock. She did not need to be embarrassed; it was nice to see an innocent wee one, wanting to share his perceptions with me.
Brian’s little sister, Marie, has recently joined us in our conversations. She is two, no bigger than a minute. She has the same enthusiasm as he does. One time, she yelled, “Bye, Jesus!,” giving a wave as we left the small chapel where we had been.
Sometimes, instead of looking into all the books written and all the lectures attended, we can learn the most from children. They speak from the heart and from the souls God has given each of them. Nothing blocks their paths; they say it as they see it.
We can inhale a breath, absorbing this innocence, learning from their words of wisdom. Think about it. How often can we quickly quote what a child says before the words of an authoritarian? Yes, I often refer to my books for important quotes, but in the front of my mind, I have a picture of small human beings, enhancing me with captivating words.
In the meantime, every time I see a clock, I envision Jesus in there, looking out at me, as each minute ticks away!

HOPING

Spring isn't quite ready to arrive in Santa Fe. It did warm up to 44 degrees today, but we have a couple of months to go before our trees and gardens come to life. However, it doesn't mean I can't enjoy some of those blossoms a bit early. I will clip a few offshoots from the apple tree and forsythia bush, bringing them into the house. Placing them into a vase of water, I will get to see them blossom, bringing a lovely color and fragrance into our home. It is a nice way to keep the spirits up, while the dreary weather lingers on. It leaves us with a sense of hope, of what is to come.
Hope is just what Christ wants us to have. I always think of Job and all he went through. There was one struggle or tragedy after another, but he continued to hope for better things to come. It took awhile, but because of his faith, never giving up, life did get better. The Psalms tell us of having hope in God, aiding us in good times and in bad. Psalm 31:24 tells us, “Be strong, be courageous, all you that hope in the Lord.” There is even the funny proverb, Proverbs 29:20, “There is more hope for a stupid fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.”
I love Romans 5:3-5, “We rejoice in our sufferings, know that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us.” Paul gives us an important message in Acts 23:6, “...Fellow Israelites ! I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. I am on trial here because of the hope I have that the dead will rise to life!” How apropos, knowing that at the end of our Lenten season, our sorrow will turn to joy, as we celebrate Christ's resurrection.
The Bible uses the word 'hope' about 150 times. It has a powerful meaning, reminding us to always keep our faith, knowing that if God is in our lives, there is always hope.

A Similarity

In a discussion I was having through a recent on-line class, there was mention of the disaster on September 11, 2001. We all continue to mourn the loss of thousands, yet the feelings are different for the families and friends whom knew someone that passed away. To witness such atrocities that day changed lives forever. Families were broken apart, friendships were severed, and tears remain to be shed. Being thousands of miles from the scene, many of us understand it was a heinous act. But we really can't understand the daily fear of the people who live where the tragedies occurred. We never cease to pray for those affected, offering our sympathy. What suffering there has been, anger being taken out upon the innocent. The impact of the devastating actions on that particular Tuesday have never left our minds. We will never forget those who died.
While having thoughts of this enormous loss in my mind, I suddenly had an image of the Crucifixion. I noticed the similarities between these two events. Anger resulted in the death of the innocent. There was tremendous suffering, changing the lives of many. And, though we were not there to witness the death of Jesus, we do know there was great sadness that day. We were not present at the Crucifixion, but its occurrence continues to leave a tremendous impact upon everyone. It has never left our minds what happened on that particular Friday. We persist in praying to Jesus for His suffering, telling Him we will never forget the day He died.
One of the last words of Jesus was, “Father, into Thy hands I commend my Spirit (Luke 23:46).”
May those left behind after the catastrophe on September 11 feel comforted, knowing their joyous spirits now reside with God. May you feel their light, resting within the light of God, being part of all our days. In the darkness, there is always this flame of light, giving us the warmth of His comfort and love, as His Spirit dwells within us.