life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Trust”

11 Jan 2014

being human

I spot one.
a coin laudro-mat
I feel blessed to be able to wash my clothes.
towels and unmentionables.
a small bag.
I walk into the familiar,
yet for a while now,
Blessedly Unfamiliar.
I remember the years of this in my life
my most missed luxury in all of life
was washing and drying clothes
at home.
So hard this part of life became.
So challenging and humbling.
$4.50 to wash
a quarter for 5 minutes to dry.
I struggle to adjust.
I hadn’t planned on this.
I don’t look the part today.
I have to ask questions to reacquaint myself with this system.
Here in the midst of
hard working and living men,
tired mothers and crying babies,
the immigrants and struggling,
These to whom I belong.
those who make their living
through making clean the dirty.

I stand and watch the circle go round
Hot tears stinging my eyes
I remember.
Those days.
Those tough as nails days.
Plunged from luxury to poverty
in a heartbeat break of life.
So soon we forget…
So quickly we remember…
I watch the water rise –
I didn’t put in enough soap.
There are no suds.
I pray that hot water I chose
for those 2 extra, hard earned quarters,
will do it’s work
and my clothes will smell good.
I will not prolong my stay –
or use more of my precious coins.

I pray each of our guardian-laundry angels
will bless each of us
doing laundry every day
in all types of conditions.
This would be pure luxury in parts of this world.
I pray for grace.
I pray to remember.
I pray to be grace.
I pray to be The Words of God to heal the broken.
I pray for grace.
I pray for the crying baby,
and the tired man,
whose current outfit could use a good washing itself.
I pray for the immigrant family,
quietly folding together,
speaking Spanish in hushed voices.
I pray for the fabulous girl at the dryers,
with the faux Burberry scarf flung jauntily over her shoulder,
I hope to carry myself with such flair and dignity.
We are all here –
Bearing the high cost,
and inconvenience,
of poverty in our society.

I pray as quiet tears run.
I stand in my washer’s corner hoping nobody sees my memories.
I blow my over-productive nose.
and give thanks for all things.
Especially that I have known these struggles.
That I know how this feels.
That I am part of this humanity.
Not separate
I am one with all God’s created people.
All seeking clean clothes,
washing machines
and hope.

The crying baby starts to laugh
I smile as well.
God is always good
I am always blessed –
If I am willing to see the blessings –
even if it takes years to see them.

AL 12/22/13

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, Beginning, Beliefs, beloved, Blessing, Choice, Encouragement, Faith, perceptions, Poetry, Prayer, Trust, Vulnerability | Leave a comment

07 Jan 2014

ahhhh, the warmth of presence

Yes, these days come, too:
gray, banal, post-epiphany,
the child in hiding,
the gold spent,
the myrrh lost on the way to Egypt,
the wise men long gone
to a country too far to hail,
the wailing over but
the sadness not,
the road leading
nowhere in particular,
starless.

Remember
it was often this way,
the star lost in fog,
the road drifted over
by weariness.

Still, something led you on.
Someone walked in you
those miles, bore your heart
deep in their robes,
safe from the swirling,
deadening sands.
That is how you have come
to this dreary day.

The promise is not glory,
not certainty, but presence.

This gray
is the inside of God’s robes,
bearing you,
without your guiding,
by another road.
________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Adventure, Alone, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Choice, determination, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, soul and spirit, thankfulness, Trust, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

06 Jan 2014

closing doors

Saying goodbye
to Short Beach
at Lighthouse Point.
This has been my sanctuary
these past two months.
My place of learning with God.
A pure divinity school,
with sparkly rocks,
seagulls named Lefty
and water that reflects
the face and moods of God.
It is time to say goodbye
time to fly –
like the cranes have taught me –
time to go to work,
co-creating with God,
all the things I’ve been taught
during these years of learning.
The truths of intimacy
and the extreme possibilities
of love manifested.
Which is the only thing that has changed my heart.
The only medicine which has bound up my wounds
and healed my broken places.
The Love, which is God,
I have come to know this truth –
it is the one, and only, thing
that will change the world.
AL 4/16/13

I spend the day
Moving into
ruthless
radical
Trust.
I confess.
I weep.
I let go.
I praise.
I let go more.
I move into new areas –
Of hope
and faith.
I walk to the shore.
Every rock glitters
I talk to my favorite seagull,
Lefty –
I can tell it’s him
when he moves
his empty leg evident.
My seagull friend, Speckles, I know immediately
those red-brown dots on his cheeks
stand out among his fair faced brothers.
They move over as I get too close –
I am not a seagull after all –
They must keep some distance
Not trusting humans
as they trust their creator.
I cant resist glittering rocks,
Colorful shells.
The sparkling glory of God
Is everywhere.
How do I not remember all this glitter in the sunshine?
I walk back with heavy pockets –
Grateful for gravity,
which will keep me on this earth
after I have emptied my treasure.
I am aware of the world –
Connection –
Trusting all of life.
As I live trust
into this new moment.
of life.
of spring.
Signs are everywhere –
Flowers and buds
appearing before my very eyes.
All of nature trusting.
Always.
Only we humans
Struggle to trust.
Only I –
think I can handle my own life.
Think I am separate.
Think I must earn my living.
Earn my worth.
Prove my value
Hide who I really am.
Allow my ego to rule my delusions.
Like I have done anything to put myself here.
Like I can pretend that I don’t need,
or that Im not enough.
that I can be someone Im not.
what arrogance have I been taught?
What Foolishness have I held on to?
What silliness, and damning lies, have I refused to let go of?
I fall on my knees in humble thankfulness.
I am not my own.
I am the beloved
Lord, I trust –
You.
Open my eyes.
Renovate my heart.
I am Yours.
3/15/13

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Choice, connection, soul and spirit, Trust, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

15 Dec 2013

surrender to the longing of our hearts

Let us be the answer to Your prayer with others. We are all seeking to know You. Our deepest part. Our most intimate longing is to know we are loved. That we are whole. That we are enough. That we are ok in being less than perfect, than what others, and our own longing hearts, want us to be. Our greatest fear is that we are not enough.
Allow us to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that You love every tiny part of us that. That You created us to know our own value and beauty. That we are truly Your beloved.
And as we know this amazing truth from You, allow us to share that astounding, life changing, truth with everyone You bring to us. Allow us to live You in every heart beat, so that what we have come to know by heart will go on as harvest and the world will be changed and healed with every light that shines into every darkness. Let us be Your city on a hill so that Your grace pours down around our ears and drowns us in glory and goodness. Thank You for loving us so much. Help us to live like we believe.

Posted in attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, soul and spirit, thankfulness, Trust, Uncategorized, Vulnerability, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

09 Dec 2013

keep my eyes above the waves…

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, courage, Faith, Life, music, strength, Trust | Leave a comment

29 Nov 2013

And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

God always knows the true needs of His covenant people. At one point the Hebrews in the wilderness thought they needed the onions, leeks and garlic of Egypt, but God knew they needed manna. They fretted over new shoes for the rugged Sinai, but God knew they needed their old ones to stay new.

The people murmured that they needed water when all they could see was rocks, but God knew they needed the water in the rock. We can trust God to supply our needs, not our preferences or the misguided wishes we bring with us from the land that enslaved us.

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Choice, commitment, courage, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, inspiration, Life, Passion, soul and spirit, strength, Trust, truth, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

25 Nov 2013

the missionaries prayer

God of love,
I Pray for the peace of Christ:
in the face of fear, to trust,
in the face of violence, to be gentle,
in the face of sorrow to be healing,
in all things to offer blessing.

Christ, grant me your peace:
with those who are rejected to stand in unity,
for those who are afraid to offer my hand,
beside the outcast to sojourn in longing,
to those who are cursed to offer blessing.

Spirit of compassion,
be the grace and strength in me
to risk for the sake of justice,
to suffer for the sake of healing,
to give of myself for the sake of love,
to offer blessing, to offer blessing.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, Beginning, commitment, community, compassion, confidence, connection, courage, determination, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, Life, Love, soul and spirit, strength, Today, touch, Trust, truth, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

21 Nov 2013

permission granted by David Allen Sullivan

You do not have to choose the bruised peach
or misshapen pepper others pass over.
You don’t have to bury
your grandmother’s keys underneath
her camellia bush as the will states.

You don’t need to write a poem about
your grandfather coughing up his lung
into that plastic tube—the machine’s wheezing
almost masking the kvetching sisters
in their Brooklyn kitchen.

You can let the crows amaze your son
without your translation of their cries.
You can lie so long under this
summer shower your imprint
will be left when you rise.

You can be stupid and simple as a heifer.
Cook plum and apple turnovers in the nude.
Revel in the flight of birds without
dreaming of flight. Remember the taste of
raw dough in your mouth as you edged a pie.

Feel the skin on things vibrate. Attune
yourself. Close your eyes. Hum.
Each beat of the world’s pulse demands
only that you feel it. No thoughts.
Just the single syllable: Yes …

See the homeless woman following
the tunings of a dead composer?
She closes her eyes and sways
with the subways. Follow her down,
inside, where the singing resides.

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org