Simply Soul Searching

A REFLECTION AND A BENEDICTION FOR THE WEEK
(Friday, October 15th)

REFLECTION:

A few days ago, as I journaled my morning prayers and reflections, I felt God asking me, “If you could begin fresh and new in every way possible, what would be the first change you would make?”

Oh my goodness. The answer came quickly – and painfully:

“If I could begin completely anew, I would erase all of the embarrassing or stupid or unkind or reactionary words I have said.”

I recalled a few of those moments over the years when I had naïvely made silly or clueless statements, when I angrily spat out hurtful remarks or hastily joined in gossip, or when I quickly assigned the worst of another’s intentions. The expression, her words spilled out, is so aptly descriptive of these times. Words that should have remained unsaid, or at least have been considered further, found a way to escape and render harm or embarrassment. My soul felt the discomfort of spiritual correction that morning!

This journaling prompt may have stemmed from an incident that happened a few months before. I had written an editorial to our local newspaper – a heartfelt plea for people to be vaccinated. I wrote about my time with cancer and how grateful I am to be alive. I also described my uncertainty and fear of the chemotherapy treatments, yet how thankful I am to have taken the risk. With the sincere hope of protecting more people from Covid, I shared my story and my heart.

There were several comments from readers who thanked me and affirmed my words, and the editor sent me a personal note of appreciation. But one reader only tersely commented, “This is stupid.” Oh my, his words surprised and hurt me!

I wish I could tell you that I wanted to respond with understanding, ask him to elaborate, and listen to his differing viewpoints. Instead, I felt very tempted to reply with that classic comeback, “You’re stupid.” I even began mentally composing haughty and critical remarks about his comment. But I refrained from replying because I knew my words would be seen throughout the Charleston area, and they would diminish the loving intention and purpose for my article.

This week, I am seeing how this man’s words were not much different from some of my spilled-out words that I have since regretted. God has compassionately understood and forgiven me, and I am to do the same for this reader. If we are to live as bearers of light and love, we must be mindful that our words – and our responses to the words of others – will become outward examples of our inner integrity.

The words we choose will either foster or hinder the way others perceive the love of Christ in our world. We can choose our words to serve as arsenals of retaliation or instruments of peace. We can utter an angry retort or we can remain silent. We can cleverly insult or lovingly correct. In every trouble or concern, we can blame and name-call, or we can address the issue itself. We can pause and pray before responding; we can ask for the grace to be kind, truthful, merciful, encouraging, and thoughtful in all we say and do.

In merciful love, God compassionately and completely erases every regrettable, hurtful word that we have said or written…
In tender care, God rewrites messages for healing and growth out of every callous, hurtful word that we have heard or read…
In radiant hope, God offers all of us new voices and new pens, so that we may create better stories – our ongoing stories of understanding, lovingkindness, and community, and our eternal story of the goodness of God.

BENEDICTION:

May you come to God in gratitude
for this, a fresh new day
and ask God’s love to flow through you
in all you do and say.

May your words become a sacred part
of God’s eternal Word.
May your voice become a holy space
where peace and love are heard.

May the words you speak be kind and good
and merciful and true.
And when you don’t know what to say,
let your silence speak for you.

May you give God every hurtful word
that lingers in your heart;
let God rewrite a better tale
of healing and new starts.

May you turn to God for clarity,
for wisdom and insight,
with understanding, patience, peace,
and joy to do what’s right.

May you speak with gentle kindness
and listen with soft grace.
May you write a hopeful story
with God to edit and erase.

May you always try to bear in mind:
with every word you have the choice
to use the ones that foster love.
Give God your pen and voice.

BIBLE PASSAGES TO BLESS YOUR WEEK:

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
    keep watch over the door of my lips.
Psalm 141:3 (NRSV)

One who spares words is knowledgeable;
    one who is cool in spirit has understanding.
Even fools who keep silent are considered wise;
    when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent.
Proverbs 17:27-28 (NRSV)

Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:29-32 (NRSV)

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
    sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Proverbs 16:24 (NRSV)

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:6 (NRSV)

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.
James 1:19-20 (NRSV)

~~~~~

Bible verses found at https://www.biblegateway.com/

(Photo by Karen)

A REFLECTION AND A BENEDICTION FOR THE WEEK
(Friday, October 8th)

REFLECTION:

When we first moved to our home here in West Virginia, I was so happy to discover a place along my neighborhood walking route that offered a quiet, solitary moment among beautiful hills and meadows. This soon became a sanctuary of sorts for me. I have ventured out to see glorious sunrises, foggy views, magnificent skies, frosty or snowy fields, silent deer and noisy geese. This place is where I pause to thank God for each new day.

Recently I learned that my sacred space will soon be changing. The city has been developing the area into a recreational park – including a playground and soccer fields – and the changes will soon impact “my” holy meadow. This week I am seeing the backhoes and wood chippers coming into my view. As much as I am relieved that this hillside will become a park and not a commercial development, I am grieving the loss of my quiet, solitary, natural, “private” sanctuary.

The landscapes of life are continually changing, aren’t they? Here in the northern hemisphere, we are seeing the landscape changes of the autumn season, with brighter colors but shorter days. When I last visited my hometown, I found that my junior high school had been replaced with a soccer field. My childhood home is now occupied by someone new and unfamiliar. Jim and I like to revisit some of our favorite vacation spots, but they are always different in some way. The landscapes of life keep changing, evolving, and at times, improving – with or without our approval or consent.

Today I am reminded of God’s constant and loving presence through all the changing landscapes of life. These changes may bring grief and a sense of loss, but they can also bring growth and a sense of opportunity, if we place ourselves into the transforming care of God. In these times, we can ask God to comfort our grief, change our perspective, inspire us to action, turn our focus, learn to accept, think of others, give us wisdom, or deepen our faith. God can lovingly bring goodness out of every new and different circumstance or experience, every changing landscape.

This current changing landscape is a minor loss, but I hope that the lessons I am gleaning will inspire and equip me for any other changes that may come. I am learning to ask God the questions that will help for every change in life. Is there a new route I should take? What opportunity have I not yet seen? Is my loss someone else’s gift? Will I become a conduit of your love for someone who will be drawn to this new landscape? How can I hold the gratitude in my heart for what was, while embracing what is and will be? Am I being nudged to advocate for the care of our changing earthly landscape? In what ways will this change transform me into a better person? Is there some new plan that I do not yet perceive?

I wonder if I may find that this new park will be even better than my solitary sanctuary.

More importantly, I wonder if I may become a better person, through the work of God’s transforming love.

BENEDICTION:

When the landscape is unfamiliar
and the wilderness seems vast,
may you turn to take the hand of One
who guides and holds you fast.

May you place each changing landscape
into God’s all-knowing care
and ask how you may use this well
as you come to God in prayer.

May you hold in deepest gratitude
the landscapes you have known
as you follow holy cloud and fire
the journey you’ll be shown.

May you go forth in expectation
of great wonders (now concealed)
as you explore these new horizons
for the joy to be revealed.

BIBLE PASSAGES TO BLESS YOUR WEEK:

God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea… The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Exodus 13:18, 21-22 (NRSV)

I am about to do a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19 (NRSV)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 
Hebrews 13:8 (NRSV)

~~~~~

Bible verses found at https://www.biblegateway.com/

(Photos by Karen, Hurricane, WV)

A REFLECTION AND A BENEDICTION FOR THE WEEK
(Friday, October 1st)

REFLECTION:

The highlight of my week was an overnight retreat with my friend, Nancy! We were inspired, comforted, and challenged as we learned about Boundless Compassion at Lial Renewal Center (the retreat was based on Joyce Rupp’s beautiful book with the same title).

Taking time away for quiet contemplation helps open our souls to the movement of the Spirit. During one break, I sat at the small lake, pondering an insight we had just discussed. In her book, Joyce Rupp writes, “Research by quantum physicists like David Bohm assures us that we are also united on a physical plane by a bond of invisible connections. Our physical self consists of invisible energy packets of light and heat called photons… every particle is in motion. Each part connects and interrelates with each other.”¹

Isn’t this discovery SO miraculous and delightful? The Light of God’s goodness and love pervades every part of God’s creation!

I began to have this sense that I too, was divinely connected to God, to Christ, to all of humanity, and to the entire universe. This idea of infinite connection – along with the wonder and serenity of the moment – overwhelmed me with joy and tenderness. I went back inside for the next session, feeling grateful, loved, and holy.

Sr. Dean had just begun introducing the next session when I was surprised by another sudden thought: Yes, Karen, you are divinely connected to God and the universe. You are part of God’s infinite light and love, you are intertwined with all of life.

You are also connected to the toad, the snake, and the slug.

I almost laughed aloud! It seemed as if God was reminding me that I am still a lowly human. I may soar with the angels – but I will also slog through the mud with those I find “less lovely.”

Now, as I reflect on this week, I find a greater purpose to God’s marvelous photons and how they interconnect with all of creation. We are meant to be connected in love, in holy light; we have been created in love and light for this very reason! To see ourselves or any other part of creation as perfectly divine or as pitifully demeaned will only keep us prideful, judgmental, and uncaring, or envious, hopeless, and despairing. We are connected through our holiness and our brokenness. We need this awareness that we are both holy and broken in order to be lovingly united with all living beings.

My reflection went one step further. Too often, I come before God as more broken than beautiful. God seems to be showing me that I am equally both, and beloved as both. As God reveals my humble humanity I am also assured that I am still a beautiful blessing…

I am broken, and I am beloved.
I am human, and I am holy.
I am insignificant, and I am immense.
I am imperfect, and I am incredible.
I am lowly, and I am lovely.

I am but a tiny flicker on the horizon… and I am also the infinite light of God.

BENEDICTION:

May you find you are an integral part
of the infinite light of Love –
a small but essential ray of hope
to help others rise above
the darkness of their grief or pain,
the depth of their dejection.
May you be one who helps them know
we share a divine connection.

May you rejoice in every imperfection
and smile with every flaw
for you are perfectly created
by our God of wonder and awe.
May you thank God for merciful grace
as you recognize your humanity,
and share the light of God’s true love
as you celebrate your divinity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

BIBLE PASSAGES TO BLESS YOUR WEEK:

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16 (NRSV)

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 
Colossians 3:12-15 (NRSV)

So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 
1 John 4:16 (NRSV)

~~~~~

¹Rupp, Joyce. Boundless Compassion. Notre Dame: Sorin Books; 2018: page 17.

Bible verses found at https://www.biblegateway.com/

Photo by Karen, Lial Renewal Center at sunrise, Whitehouse, Ohio

A REFLECTION AND A BENEDICTION FOR THE WEEK
(Friday, September 24th)

REFLECTION:

Looking back on this week, I am grateful for the many blessings of each day! But, as I lamented with my sister, I often felt as if I had just solved a problem, completed a task, or put a concern to rest, when I would find another one waiting to be addressed. All in all, the week was very good – the burdens were fairly minor – but I noticed that there were very few moments of “freedom,” of feeling free of responsibilities, burdens, or cares.

Do you sometimes feel as if life’s burdens constantly pass before you, just waiting for you to pick them up? The baggage claim carousel at the airport seems to describe this feeling perfectly.

Imagine three conveyors behind the wall at the airport terminal. One is being loaded with responsibilities that we have brought along and will readily claim – baggage that includes such things as our career work, daily tasks, volunteer time, self care, family needs. However, next to that one is a conveyor being loaded with surprises – burdens of health issues, financial losses, appliance breakdowns, ongoing pandemics. Finally, there is a third conveyor that is being filled with the burdens and baggage of others – those we love, those who are hurting, and those of the world. As these come together and pass before us, we can feel overwhelmed and helpless! And just as we try to frantically take on each burden, someone thrusts another bag at us and says, “Here, take this!”

Today’s reflection is inviting me to remember that the baggage on the carousel will keep circling. The baggage we miss or choose to leave on the conveyor will eventually return to us again, giving us time to ask some discerning questions before we choose the next burden to lift and carry…

Is this bag truly mine to pick up, or does it belong to someone else? Am I being responsible or helpful – or am I interfering or enabling?

Could I let this burden remain on the carousel and pick it up the next time it circles by? Is someone further down the line waiting for this one? Could there be another person who is more willing and capable of lifting this bag?

I want to carry some of that heavier burden, but how might I lighten the load? Which things are essential and which are frivolous? What responsibility belongs solely to me, and what is meant to be shared?

Do I find myself rushing ahead to grab a bag, instead of waiting for it to come to me? How does my fear reach for burdens that may never come to pass?

How might I be strengthened or perfected if I choose this particular burden? Is this a time for me to take on a burden that could foster growth and faith?

Am I resting and restoring in the empty spaces between each bag? Should I let this burden pass until I catch my breath?

Will carrying this burden bless and help another? If so, in what ways could I ask God to help me?

Am I keeping one hand free for a “here, take this” moment? Have I safeguarded enough strength and space for any unexpected and urgent baggage?

And in a moment of honest retrospection:
Why am I looking over at the next carousel? Am I afraid to leave empty-handed?

The baggage and burdens of life will continue to come at us. Yes, we are called to carry the burdens of one another; we are called to take up the cross of humble service and love, but we are also invited to the peace that can be found in placing ourselves and our burdens into God’s loving care. We are called to do some heavy lifting, but we are also invited to come away and rest. I realize that we don’t always have time to stand and contemplate each burden that comes our way, but perhaps we can pause for a moment to ask God, “Is this burden mine to take, and if so, will you help me carry it?”

This seems to be my message for the week. Does this touch your soul, too?

BENEDICTION:

May you pause between the spaces
of the burdens passing by
to seek God’s wisdom as you choose
which bags are yours, and why.

May you be mindful of the needs of others
as you select each piece
and trust in One who helps you know
which to carry or release.

May you find surprising hope and joy
among these burdens, too;
claim these as gifts of light and love
from the One who dwells with you.

~~~~~~~~~~

BIBLE PASSAGES TO BLESS YOUR WEEK:

Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.
(Psalm 55:22 NRSV)

Do not fear, for I am with you,
    do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
(Isaiah 41:10 NRSV)

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NRSV)

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. (Galatians 6:2, 9-10 NRSV)

~~~~~

Photo by Dimitri Karastelev on Unsplash

Bible verses found at https://www.biblegateway.com/

Dear Reader Friends,

I have always loved the benediction at the end of a worship service. The benediction serves to close our time together, and to bless us as we “depart in peace to love and serve others.” Our worship service is a time to praise and thank God, to reflect on Bible readings and a sermon message, to pray for ourselves and others, and to gather and share a meal in community. The benediction then blesses us to take what we have received from Christ and our time together, and to go into our daily living, refreshed and ready for loving service.

What would happen if we were to look back at our workweek, our regular daily living, as a time of worship and reflection? How much would our lives change If we were to review any highlights or common themes that seemed to reveal new insights, lessons, or gifts from God in recent days? How might we deepen in faith and grow in love if we were to close out each week with a benediction – a blessing on what we have received, and a prayer to use what we have gained or gleaned for the week ahead?

I feel drawn to try this practice. Would you like to join me?

Each Friday, I will reflect on the experiences and emotions of the week, prayerfully seek any lessons or insights God may reveal, then offer a benediction to gratefully close and set aside that week, with a blessing to better live and love in the new days ahead.

I pray that my thoughts, words, revelations, and inspirations will be pleasing to God, and will serve to bless you, too.

Your Friend,
Karen 🙂

(Photo by Karen, Hurricane, WV)