Mar 17, 2011

Uncovering Spring

The remnants of winter still are evident--
The leafless or crunchy leaves on the trees
The hard and brittle ground once frozen
The closed doors of homes still hibernating

But the winter gives way to the impending spring
The birds are chirping on this day where sunshine warms
And the sky's sunlight seems so brilliant as I squint to see
And hear children's laughter waft through the air

Such a reminder of this time of Lent--
The preparation that it takes to move
From the winter of our souls to feel spring within
To unleash parts of our hearts held in pain or sin

To walk the journey of the cross of sacrifice
To the freedom of resurrection and new life
This day is my reminder to move, to act, to pray
To prepare all that is inside as outside we look to newness

The brittle, the broken, the torn away, the crumpled up
Is given new bloom, new life, new mending,
New healing and new perspective for living
The old is gone, behold the new has come.

Welcome Spring.

Mar 14, 2011

Seeking You, Finding You

Sometimes I strive so hard to seek you
And other times I fall away so easily
Needing reminders that you are my center
Seeking you in all the ways I can. Let me be open.

To seeking you and finding you in the silent night
In the solitude of the raindrops on my roof
Or a quiet walk with the sun coming up over the lake
Inviting you in again to stay with me. Let me receive.

I must search for the sacred spaces sometimes
And quiet my mind and soul to do the reflective work
So that as I seek you and find you on this Lenten journey
Searching becomes my passion that spills over. Let me explore.

Divine presence, in the holy darkness or the brilliant light
You are the one who draws me to you in a way that is authentic
Creating the rhythm of my soul and allowing me to examine
Finding all the ways that lead me further in love with you. Change my heart.

Empty me of all that does not worship
Fill me with the passionate love
Hungering soul that needs your food
Thirsting in the desert that needs quenching
Satisfying the longing and the yearning
Stretch me, open me, allow me, mold me, use me
All for your glory.

Mar 11, 2011

A Lenten Pondering

Do I look for the signs?
The signs of hope,
The gifts of compassion
Do I uncover and expose as I should?

For Lent is a time of renewing and restoring,
What have I lost and what needs to be found?
How can I be one who is actively seeking and pursuing
As we begin the journey, the path to the Cross.

Is my Spirit open, my heart free?
Am I able to give, as well as ready and open to receive?
Can I look deep enough inside, to release my soul
To do the work that needs to be done to go deeper?

Are there parts of my heart that hardened and need softening?
Are there acts of compassion that require my stepping out from the safe coccoon?
Or are there indifferences I let seep into my soul and sit there awhile?
Or do I choose to grumble and complain instead of being part of the solution and the change?

The questions haunt me and cause me to wonder
As I sit in the holy darkness and move through
I am taken by the stillness and solitude God calls me to
He is breathing Hope into life, into the world

Revealing fresh possibility even in the dimess of this moment
For I need to look truthfully and uncover and undo and unearth
I am held by the deepness of being transformed and moved
Reveal. Restore. Renew. Refresh.

Walk with me Lord, Lead me to the Cross.