Category Archives: Blessings

Worthwhile

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Worthwhile

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for deciding human life was a good idea,
and for the total helplessness
of an infant,
causing mother and child to turn
toward each other over and over,
a hundred times
and then a hundred more.

Blessed are You
for giving us courage,
the desire to survive
and—even more so—to thrive,
to persist in the relationships
that continually test
and sustain us.

Blessed are You
for giving us courage
to believe in one another:
I am worthwhile, worth stillness.
You are worthwhile, worth time.
We are worthwhile, worth effort.

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for giving us courage
to act, or to be still,
to affirm our own dignity
and the dignity of another,
gifting us the intimacy
You created us for,
eternal turning
toward each other,
seeing and being seen.

April Depression

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Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe,
for the unwanted absurdities
that remind me of gold I have found
while underground.

Today the absurdity is my annual spring depression
—four Aprils in a row.
While leaves and buds expand, my world shrinks
—social anxiety, tears near the surface,
wanting more sleep, more food, more time alone.

A superficial gathering of resources will not work today.
Instead, I will sink like a submarine, slowly,
deep to treasures of a different kind,
treasures found on previous voyages through darkness:
my intrinsic wholeness and unshakeable goodness,
permission to feel without evaluating,
acceptance of a different capacity each day,
invitation to let my heart speak
and to hold its words gently.

I do not find sustenance by grasping
for sunlight at the surface,
but by accepting a descent into darkness,
knowing I will have the company
of my own kindness to myself,
a contentment in the discontent,
until my buoyancy returns
and I surface again.

April Snow

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April Snow

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for sudden snow,
sneaky guest arriving in the night,
subtle blanket laid over
surprised tulip leaves and
sunny yellow forsythia blossoms.

Blessed are You
for slow morning,
snow day—no school,
squiggling paths in the back yard where
sister used Papa’s tow strap to
skate little sister around on a sled.

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for the inviting silence of snow,
sustenance for our rushing souls,
sheet-white brightness filling the world with light,
sacred substance inviting us to
settle in and enjoy one last white wonderland.
Spring is on its way.

Wild, Strong Choice

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Wild, Strong Choice

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for the charity of choice:
not the weighty responsibility
I once thought it was,
but a wild freedom
and strength.

Blessed are You for choice,
release from resentment,
return to myself,
invitation to be brave
and to choose Love—
for myself, and for
the person in front of me.

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for the peace
of knowing
I invariably have choice.
I am not a victim; rather,
I am a victor—a chooser—
in Love.

Eyelids

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Eyelids

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for eyes that close at night,
taking me from profusion
of colors and shapes
to a quieter, smaller world
behind my eyelids—
reminder that I am small
and needn’t take
the whole world
to bed with me.

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for eyes that close,
inviting me inward
to the quiet safety
of my center,
where I remember
I am whole and holy,
no tweaks necessary.
Everything is okay
here behind my eyelids.

Yes and No meet Love

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What are the questions that freeze you inside because the socially or spiritually acceptable answer is “Yes” but your truest answer is “No”?
Can you babysit?
Will you pray for me?
Can you visit Grandma today?
Could you help me move some furniture?
May I borrow your dress? Your truck? Your sewing machine?

Maybe you don’t even know what your honest answer is, because once you feel like you have to say “Yes,” things get really tense inside and you can’t think straight.

Often I have ignored the invitation to engage with my inner dialogue, by quickly saying “Yes” and learning to live with the resentment.

As I slowly learn to be kind to myself, I sit down with my feelings more often, to hear them out. And then I let Love decide. Love is not a yes-woman. Love is as gentle with me as it is with others, and it walks me through these tense places with surprising strength and clarity.

No question has one right answer. Allow yourself to feel all the answers, and make a choice toward the wholeness of every person, including yourself.

Yes and No meet Love

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for the awful feeling
of being trapped by a question:
“Will you pray for me?”
It’s the kind of question
with only one right answer.
I hate that.

Blessed are You
for this discomfort,
invitation to notice
I have separated from myself.
Yes and No at war,
fully aware that Yes will win
and No is hot with powerlessness.

Blessed are You
for the opportunity to re-unite with myself,
for Yes and No to shake hands,
the signal for Love to step forward
and make the call.

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for knowing there is no right answer,
and no wrong answer—
only Love, tender and sharp,
hot lava to my glacier of fear,
lemonade to my sweating soul,
permission slip allowing the confused,
“naughty” half of myself out of detention,
joyful reunion within.

Tension

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Tension

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for embracing tension:
snake in the garden,
Israelites in the Red Sea,
King in a feeding trough,
lose your life to save it.

Blessed are You
for a world redeemed
yet still in shambles,
where death produces life,
waiting accomplishes much,
silence speaks,
and Love dances with doubt.

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for showing us hope
and expectation
in the presence of oppression
and dysfunction;
for joy in darkness;
for comfort that holds
every broken piece
with tenderness.

Photo by Damon Hall: https://www.pexels.com/photo/aerial-photo-of-seashore-1319110/

God’s Idea

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God’s Idea

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for having Your own ideas,
different than mine—
puzzling, maddening, beautiful ideas.

Blessed are You for inviting me
from predictable to profound,
always reaching for a new surprise
from Your pocket or bookshelf,
Your eyes twinkling.

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for surprising me with joy and patience,
witnessing my jaw drop—
I stare at myself in wonder.
I watch myself be Your daughter,
and I glow with gratitude.
Your idea of me is so much better
than mine ever was.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-looking-at-the-mirror-774866/

Wonder Is Love

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Wonder Is Love

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for invitations to wonder.

I used to think
wonder was reserved
for sunsets and lady bugs,
snowflakes and perfect chocolate truffles.

I didn’t know wonder
as universal curiosity,
toward fear and anger,
panic and distrust,
burning bushes and lepers,
temper tantrums and love notes,
and my daughter who talks. so. much.

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for wonder as a portal to love,
to see and hear,
to be amazed,
to join hands with the “other,”
whether it be the rejected parts of myself
or the unwrapped person in front of me.

Notice of God

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Notice of God

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe,
for noticing us.
You see the accomplished professional
behind the messy-bun and pajamas
shopping for milk and cereal, 6am.
You see the tense heart
inside a trendy business suit and shoes,
man who feels like an imposter
and wonders if anyone notices.

Blessed are You for seeing—
the weary emptiness of a single father,
alone in all the ways he never wanted to be;
the perfectly broken heart of a young girl
who carries a secret in her abused body,
but a smile on her face.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe,
for seeing little me under my big personality,
for seeing fear drenched in shame
because it wanted to be faith,
for seeing wholeness in me,
for covering everything in tenderness:
Your glance, grin, gaze,
tears on crumpled face,
a wink, smile, laugh—
all my depths
reflected on Your face,
consecrated by Your notice.