Thursday, March 8, 2012

Dearest God,

When I reflect backwards even to my earliest memories, I cannot remember a time without you.  I always had a sense of your divine presence.  I may not have had the language to declare it but I always had the feeling you were nearby.

When I think about my own faith journey, I recall to mind many people who carried faith for me.  Sometimes I reminisce thinking about those who reinforced faith within me.  Family members, teachers, friends, pastors, churches, monastic communities, and even strangers who appeared out of nowhere to give me a word from you.

As I consider the way my faith has developed, I marvel at the many gifts I have been given.  Along my life pilgrimage, you have sent people to me sometimes with a message of encouragement, hope, affirmation, challenge, or guidance.  There were those moments when I just needed an expression of your love or grace and you provided it.

There have also been those places, locations, or landmarks that spoke powerfully to me.  The Garden of Gethsemane, the Russian Orthodox Church, the cave where John the Revelator wrote Revelations, the Sea of Galilee, the streets of Assisi where St. Francis walked, the grotto where St. Bernadette had her first great vision of Mary, the Abbey of Gethsemane, Christ in the Desert Monastery, the town of Ankaase, Ghana, the hilltop monastery where St. Francis configured the first nativity scene, Taize, Liseux, the home of St. Terese, the Carmelite Monastery, the Atlanta Methodist Church, Grandma Hughes' farmhouse.  I could go on and on as sights and scenes of special holy sites come to me.

But then there have been objects that pointed me to you.  The pieta in St. Peter's Church in Rome, the four captives of Michelangelo, the grave of Susannah Wesley, a shell bowl, the historical novel, The Agony and the Ecstasy, the video of me dancing at the altar at Bethel United Methodist Church, wooden crosses from Bethlehem, the albums of my renewal leave, the Sistine Chapel, and the Basilica of St. Croce.  Again there are too many to name.

I think of simple things that nature has offered me.  A snowfall, a mountain stream, the first buds of spring, birds singing and making nests, the ocean, a gentle breeze, a misty rain, mountain ranges, New Mexico, fall colors, a blue sky with billowy white clouds, sunrises and sunsets, a starry night, and beautiful faces of my children and grandchildren.

I have been blessed to see you again and again.

Holy God,
Giver of all good things,
I thank you
for my
spiritual traveling time
this morning.
I am thankful
for the journey
we took
this last hour
as you
led me
to spiritual
holy sites
that still
speak their love
to me,
Only you,
dear God,
only you
can provide
such a
beautiful time
with great meaning.
Thank you.

Love, Andrea