As I have thought about the things I would identify as "crumbs" the list has at times felt endless, thus, I was relieved to read the first sentence within "Prayer".
Before I begin rambling...I'm going to offer Macrina's thoughts on this wonderful crumb."This list of crumbs to be gathered up for nourishment could continue on through the night and into a new day. There is no better way to end this chapter than by reflecting with you on that golden response to God called prayer" (Macrina Wiederkehr, A Tree Full of Angels, p 39)
- Prayer
- To pray is to touch God and let God touch us.
- Prayer does nothing to make God more present, for God is always present.
- Prayer is our response to the presence of God in our lives.
- Friendship is a marvelous exchange, and that is exactly what prayer is.
- How do I pray?
- I listen
- I talk
- I weep
- I am silent
- I embrace the beloved
- I gaze with reverence
- I wonder and adore
- I share my needs
- I have tea with God
- I give gifts
- I receive gifts
- I give thanks and I say I'm sorry
- I scream
- I get angry
- I show God all my life, including my divided heart
- I relax
- I'm at home
- I read a poem or tell God a story
- I dance
- Sometimes I get a bit dramatic
- What words do I use when I do use words?
- "O Most Powerful One, O Indwelling One, I have no words to bring you into my heart; for already you have emptied yourself into my life. You came uninvited. You are here. But I am afraid to reach out and touch you. I am afraid of falling in love. Don't you see that if I fall in love I will have to surrender to your embrace. I will have to let you love me as I am, with all my imperfections. I will have to give you my will. O God, I love my own will! I am not ready to give it up. I stand at this east window each morning yearning for you. I yearn for you just as the sun yearns to rise. My soul, too, has sunrises, but they aren't seen by the world yet. I keep my rising inside. In spite of my struggle to keep it inside, I almost burst with you, God, each day. What would the world think if I rose? If I rose I could never be my shallow, surface self anymore. If I rose some people would not like my colors, and so I keep all this lovely color inside. I am afraid to rise. I am dying to come home to myself. It is the same as coming home to you. O All-Seeing-One, can you see that this yearning is pure prayer? Can you see that my yearning is a golden sunrise?"
- God recognizes the cry of my heart as prayer.
- Prayer is a marvelous exchange.
- Prayer, the golden necessity, the glorious crumb.
- What is my cry among all the cries of the world?
- Only a crumb, but a crumb that nourishes the heart of God.
I read this and ... I cannot describe the sense of awe within my heart. Oh, God, I have such simple prayers with simple words! I wonder if they sound as beautiful to your heart as Macrina's words sound to my own?
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The aid came to get my mom and I, I slammed my computer shut...and away we went. My dad did great through his surgery, praise God! I am blessed and I pray I do not take these two wonderful blessings of my life for granted.
It is late again...and I still have not gotten to writing my crumbs. Tomorrow morning, I will leave early once again to get my mom to the hospital on the north side, then I will drive south of Indianapolis for my church's VBS. I've some stops to make after VBS, then its back to the north side to pick my folks up and bring them both home!
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| married June 1950... and still counting |
It is late again...and I still have not gotten to writing my crumbs. Tomorrow morning, I will leave early once again to get my mom to the hospital on the north side, then I will drive south of Indianapolis for my church's VBS. I've some stops to make after VBS, then its back to the north side to pick my folks up and bring them both home!
I did find a short video that is titled, Take My Hand. As it begins, it says, "Glimpses of God." I've had so many glimpses of God today. My parents, a story my pregnant daughter shared about the baby that will make its appearance very soon, another daughter stealing the above picture and posting it on FaceBook exclaiming how special these two people are......God is love and I have been surrounded and touched by love throughout this day.
Take My Hand...
Many Blessings ~ Sandi
I am going to go through the crumbs of the book, and my goal is to reflect on the crumbs in my life, but I will leave you with the crumbs of prayer that seem to be coming daily at bedtime prayers from my youngest one...."thank you for the food and that when I turn 4 - I will be able to play soccer (on a team), play baseball (on a team), play basketball (on a team), go to school." He is counting on the future and the hope that it holds for him. May I trust, hope, and believe with the confidence that he has.
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