Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Ordina, deus meus, statum meum --- secundum verbum tuum.

It's been a long summer. I've struggled to keep an ordered home and family life even more than usual. Fitting in trips to the beach, the park, and family celebrations on a leaner budget has tried my patience. Keeping the boys active, civil, and enlisting them to help around the house has been a chore at best. By the time the July 21 post to this blog was begun, I was wearing thin and frustrated. Some friends invited us to join them at their cabin in northern Michigan, which sparked the comment at the bottom of that post. Lake Hanley is in what is known as the "upper chain" of lakes connected to Lake Michigan. There I found much needed rest, refreshment, and renewal. You can click here to read more about our vacation.

Now the children are back in school, my husband is back to his educational responsibilities, and I return to the order that makes it all possible. I find myself relishing the pre-dawn hours, when I can be alone with my morning prayers and a cup of coffee. I'm prepared in those moments to face the day with grace befitting a godly woman. I will undoubtedly stumble before the day is done, but if I have touched the solid face of my Rock and Salvation, then I will not fall far. The lifeline will be in my hand, the cry of praise that lifts me up will be still warm on my lips. And then there's the sweet gift of memory: I can drift back into a kayak on the Green River and remember that so long as the sun rises and sets, then mercy is ever new, and my hope cannot be stilled.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Couldn't have said it better myself.

"Why [am I] now developing a sense of reverence...and finding deep peacefulness in not knowing all the answers? ...I can only say that the Holy Spirit is on the move. Grace is flowing with a particular kind of abundance, calling us more strongly and guiding us more clearly toward true healing and wholeness."

-- Gerald May, Simply Sane: the Spirituality of Mental Health