WORK

"Let us, then, be up and doing..."

                                                              Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


It is Monday morning and I am at my desk ready to begin my work day...as I look around this morning there is much work that calls to me, waiting to be done. Sometimes we move through our days just "up and doing", like Longfellow says, yet we can give the things we do, a quality unique to us, if we pay attention. Actually the quality is always unique to us with or without our attention. Yikes!

It is the essence of our Soul that we impart to our daily work. We were all born of the same God, the God of love...how is it that we sometimes get so far away from this fact? How do we lose ourselves "just up and doing"? I know that Longfellow meant for us to  make plans to do things, and the planning and the doing, increase our energy...it is true that we need things to look forward to and work to accomplish in order to be fulfilled. And it is also true, that sometimes, we only need to relax into our being and allow the God of the Universe to fill us.

My work teaches me to make a plan then take steps to activate the plan. While I go about my work I occasionally veer off the path and learn many things about my Spirit...where am I holding myself back? Why do I think there is only one way to tackle a task? I know that in everything I do God/the essence of my Soul whispers lessons for me to learn. I listen closely and continue to grow.

Maybe everything is not a lesson...maybe we are here just to be. 

Maybe that is true for others but learning the lessons of Spirit seems to be the reason for my life. It has been a life long learning journey...I pray and meditate and read and worship and still life unfolds in ways that force me inside..asking for answers...maybe my learning curve is large. One lesson that I have learned is that God/Spirit is always here with me. Always. Loving me. Guiding me. For that I am grateful.

Now, to my daily work...

                   

Reasons To Celebrate

"Grown-ups never understood anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."

                                                                             Antoine De Saint-Exupery


Early Monday morning my husband and I flew to an idyllic setting in the rolling hills of Tennessee. The reason for the trip was a celebration of life for his cousin Craig. Craig died recently with a horrible and painful cancer yet he was surrounded with many people who loved him and he knew that they were there.

His mother, my husband's aunt Helen, is one of the people I admire most in this world. Many years ago when her children were young, she was driving to meet her husband after work and came upon an accident. The accident involved her husband who died at the scene leaving Helen with three small children to raise. Craig was eight years old and he was the eldest. Now he has died leaving behind his eight year old daughter. Before he left his body he said wanted Amanda to have what he did not have growing up: her father.

It is strange how sometimes life loops around...how both Amanda and Craig lost their father at eight years old. Why remains yet another of life's  mysteries. I wonder if we ever discover the why's? God reveals some secrets but others remain outside our level of understanding. It is here that we can only rest in the love God has for each one of us. Losing the questions in our complete and total faith that the Master of the universe...God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace is in control and all is well.

Everyone who came together for Craig's celebration of life stayed at the same lovely lodge which had gathering places indoors and out with garden paths and woodland trails. Being together for 24 hours allowed time for Craig to reveal himself through stories told by those who loved him best. We watched video pictures and listened to stories as we sat by the outdoor fire and made smores.

There was a pond with fish to feed for the children. I watched Amanda play with her friend. She seemed to sink into the comfort of her surroundings, knowing that everyone who gathered here cared about her loss. She will surely miss the father whose legs she rubbed to bring him comfort. But now she will go on...with her beautiful  mother, full of strength and love and her wise and courageous grandmother to guide her.


This is what Craig wanted, those he loved to gather and celebrate his life. It was a restorative day a time for reconnecting with distant family members and resting in the fact this is part of the unfolding of life. His wife and mother and sister honored his wishes in such a precious way and will continue to celebrate him as they go about the days of their lives. His body may be gone but he is still with them in their memories...being helpful...as Amanda said.

Reasons To Celebrate

"For everything that lives is holy; life delights in life"

                                                                                              William Blake


This morning as I listen to the birds show their happiness at the arrival of Spring...I enjoy the promise that Jesus made. A promise of renewal...over and over again until we get it right. The promise of God's love prevailing over everything...All we have to do is believe and follow. How simple. How comforting.

Sometimes what we pray for and think we must have is not what we get in life. There are times that we must accept what life is like right where we are and know that the adventure is continuing to unfold. Spirit knows the way when we do not...our Soul sees over the horizon when we can only see the circumstances surrounding us in a given moment. If we hold only negative, small thoughts about what is happening we block the light and guidance that Spirit constantly offers us if we only look inside.

Today my husband and I go to mediation on our house. The house where last Sunday 50 of my family and friends celebrated Easter with brunch. The house jumped to life with the sounds of ten happy children running up the stairs and through the halls. Old pictures from slides brought to life by a cousin who died this weekend was the entertainment and focus of prayer. The picture showed the history of the Smith family of eight now all grown up with children and grandchildren.

Spirit shows me and history proves that all things change and sometimes we must let go for a greater good to come about. So this morning before meeting with lawyers at the courthouse. I give thanks for the ability to dream up and build and live in this beautiful home. It has been a refuge and a place for celebrations and has housed the people that I love the most, for an hours chat or an over night stay. I welcome what comes next because I know that Spirit conspires to lifting me up if I do not block the flow of good coming to me with thoughts of doom.

Lord, I ask that you allow me to feel you supporting Bob and I today. I ask that you change any thoughts that are blocking me from feeling your complete and total love today. Please walk in before me and hold me up...I know that I can do all things through you, Amen