Thursday, November 29, 2012

Dear God,

You open eyes to your spirit.  You offer opportunities to take the journey of a lifetime.  You equip your people for a life of faith.  You touch, inspire, challenge, and transform!

Today I watched your spirit move in a mighty and mysterious way.  Gently you nudged, opening eyes to the past.  Carefully you peeled away layers of resentment, bitterness, and anger.  There beneath it all we discovered the source of pain, nearly 40 years of it.  Tears followed as we looked at one picture after another.

In the living room of our beloved spiritual home the prayers of those who had come before us held our friend as we allowed ourselves to be embraced by love divine.  We sensed the thousands of prayers prayed here, muttered by the weary, the needy, the frightened, the doubter, the forgotten, and the hopeful, each one turning to you for guidance.  We listened and followed the road revealed that led to you.

God of Power and Might,
thank you
for the ways
in which
you move
in our lives.
Thank you
for your
tender care
in opening us
to the truth
that sets us free.
Thank you
for spiritual homes
that await us,
giving us
hopeful chances
to find
our way home.
Blessed are you,
Lord God,
for all
your gifts.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Dear God,

I wanted to say goodbye and thank you, to express my appreciation and love, and to take a last walk through our beloved St. Joseph Retreat Center.  I started my walk in the conference room, the site of many healings, insights, hopes, joys, and celebrations.  I let my tears flow in thanksgiving as I looked out at the statue of Mary.  I remembered women in joyous celebration discovering the eternal connection with you.

Next I walked out of the room and down the hall, reading the brightly designed posters of St. Joseph Day and then I opened the door and moved inside the inspiring chapel, the light shining through the blue, red, and yellow stained glass windows.  I walked by the Stations of the Cross where retreatants wandered wondering about faith, the cross, and Christ.  I remembered the labyrinth where women moved quietly, reverently into the center where you awaited them in grace.  My tears continued as I turned to leave, allowing the door to silently close behind me.

And then I climbed the stairs to the third floor, to the bedrooms of the faithful who came to the center looking for faith, hope, understanding, friendship, mercy, and peace. I walked the square, peering inside each room remembering those whose hearts were opened to you.  I looked at the doorknobs where I had placed cloth bags that during retreats I would fill with spiritual treasures.  I remembered and silently wept with deep gratitude.

Finally I started the trek back down the stairs where I had journeyed up and down for 20 years as I lead retreats and retreated alone with you and with my covenant group.  Oh, how much love emanated from each step that held me.  At the bottom of the steps I turned and walked through the doors entering the ground floor of the center.  I took my final walk reading the carefully crafted, beautifully-written history of the sisters of St. Joseph.  I lifted my hand, gently pressing my finger across the words, "May those who come behind us find us faithful and may we sing to the next generation."

I realized that faith had met me here so many times.  Peace had made its way into my heart.  Joy had greeted me as I let myself trust for my own healing and the healing of others.  How wondrous and generous.  Just then a sister came over to me introducing herself for the first time.  There you gave me the perfect opportunity to say thank you and to express my thanksgiving for the years of mystical surprise and grace.  Tears welled in our eyes as I shared how profoundly the monastic community had influenced and transformed my life and the lives of so many others.  As we hugged one another, we celebrated your sacred doings, giving thanks for something so vast and wonderful.

Gracious and Generous God,
to you
all glory
is given.
You have blessed
so many,
many times.
When our
hearts hurt,
you brought healing.
When our minds
were cluttered
and distracted,
you gave clarity.
When our souls
were empty,
you filled us
with life-giving food.
When we lost
our way,
you revealed
the road
back home.
What can
I possibly say
express my praise
and thanksgiving?

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

My dearest God,

She asked to see a picture of my grandmother.  As I went through old albums, I saw my grandmother's face looking up at me.  The picture was taken on Christmas Eve at the century-old log farmhouse.  She was opening the gift I had made her, a sweater to keep her warm.  When I carried the picture upstairs and showed our friend, I told her the story of faith.

With some kind of regularity you refresh the memory of my grandmother who even today speaks to me of Christian faith.  Her warm way, generous spirit, loving trust, and her dedicated commitment to "love one another as I have loved you," still inspires me.  Although my grandmother died more than 25 years ago, her witness still calls for a response in me.

As I reflect upon all those who have graced my life, my grandmother is the one who always stands out.  Observing her live her daily life in prayer, worship, service, and compassionate care caused me to want to give my life to the same One who had given life to her.  It was easy to take hold of your hand because she was holding the other.

Make me
an instrument
of faith,
O Lord;
make me
a witness too.
Let not
one day
go by
that I fail
to share
the truly
wondrous news
of grace-filled love.
Reveal your plan
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Monday, November 26, 2012

Dear God,

You gave us cause to sing!  All day long we were overwhelmed with what you are doing in the midst of committed people caring for others:  students willing to pay their own way to live in substandard conditions to help African villages, Peruvian mountain towns, and Asian ghettos, professors leading students in rural areas to help and teach sound business principles and practices, doctors and nurses leading the way in medical education and treatment of HIV-Aids, assisting in food safety and security, and aiding in providing microfinancing loans to help persons build lives and sustainable businesses, all this through Indiana University.  As we sat around tables sharing ideas, proven projects and programs, and looking at ways to collaborate in the future, we were all jubilant.  As I hugged one of the medical leaders, he said to me, "It's all about faith!"

Yes, it is all about faith.  Our friends who made a sizable contribution to Stanford University presented their program because they feel compelled to assist a billion people living on a dollar a day.  The business school staff, faculty, and students exhibited excitement as they shared their experience of helping people make their way to sustainable, meaningful lives.  The medical school talked about other programs evolving out of their successful medical programs that will assist entrepreneurs in mentoring, supporting, and coaching the poor to learn skills and take steps toward cultivating their own businesses.  All this is designed to transform whole societies.

As the four of us sat at our dinner table after a long, exciting day, we sang together our prayer of thanksgiving, four voices singing one song of praise out of one profound faith.

Gracious God,
you are compassionate,
filled with
tender love.
Your kindness overflows
like an
overflowing fountain.
You touched us deeply,
inspired us greatly,
and overwhelmingly
challenged us
for the future.
We are
so grateful!

Love, Andrea

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Dearest God,

He stands as a silent witness in my contemplative garden.  Regularly I look out to gaze upon him remembering the gifts he imparted as he let his faith lead him.  At his feet are "shiny rocks", symbols of prayers prayed by grandchildren.  St. Francis reminds me of a simple faith, a quiet trust, and a devotion to follow and to lead and to follow and to lead.  Whether I am pondering, celebrating, questioning, or doubting, I find comfort in this symbol of faith.

I am grateful for the signs of faith that are all about me.  Each one redirects me to consider whose world this is.  It also helps me to pause and look at life in the context of faith.  What I see on the surface may not be all that there is.  What I have learned is there is always more than what I see superficially.  As I allow the symbols to draw me closer, I am enabled and empowered to remember the depths to which you go to speak to your children.  As I journey downward and move beyond the simple distractions of life, I find you waiting to challenge or to give a word that will offer me a new opportunity to grow, to be transformed, or to renewed in some way or another.

Today especially I give thanks.

O Lord,
my God,
how grateful
I am
to be
your child.
Let the signs
of your
living presence
speak to me
now and forever,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Dearest God,

How can your love heal broken hearts?  How can it mend crushed spirits?

I know someone whose tender heart is hurting.  I know she suffers alone never finding the source of healing. I know she is a good person who deeply cares for others.  Perhaps it is the depth of her caring that puts her own heart at risk.  How can she open it further to your loving care?

I have been witness to your healing power.  I have seen miracles.  I have experienced inner healing that literally transformed me.  I know what you can do.  I know what you want to do.  How can I lead my sister to the healing waters?

Compassionate God,
we wound
so easily
when we care
so much.
Show us
the way
to your well
of living,
healing water,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Friday, November 23, 2012

Dear God,

On the early morning drive to shop for groceries, first it was the outdoor Christmas lights, then the Christmas music by Josh Groban, and then the church sitting as a silent witness to faith, the light, and the living presence of Jesus that captured my heart.  I felt an emotional and spiritual tug from and toward you.  But why not?  You are all around me.

As I paused in the parking lot, I realized the genius of celebrating Christmas every 12 months.  It is the opportunity to pause, to reflect, and to remember your goodness, mercy, and love.  Every year the Advent season stirs new life in me.  There is always a birthing that takes place in my soul.  Never mind the commercialism or the greed, the idea of Christmas reminds me of faith centered in Christ.  I look at my life and discover I want to travel again to Bethlehem in my spirit.  I want to pull together the items of faith in order to make the journey to the manger.  I want to hear the hushed cry, see the mother's love, and witness a father whose love touches us again and again.  I want to kneel down and give my own gift.  I want to celebrate the presence of a life full of faith, of God who is merciful, and a spirit who is the power of breath.  I want to love and be loved.  I want to share it because that is always what I find at the manger.

As I walked through the store picking up items to make a nice dinner for friends who've come to visit from California, pictures of thankfulness spun around in my head.  So many blessings, so many offerings, so many gifts, so much love.  Jesus.

Thank you,
Gracious God,
for simple reminders
that profoundly speak
of your presence
in the world.
Thank you
for quiet moments
to celebrate
and give thanks.
Thank you
for the blessing
of devotion
where I too
may give back.

Love, Andrea

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Dear God,

How do I count your many blessings?  How do I adequately give thanks?  How do I pass along blessings to others?

As I began my morning rocking a granddaughter on my lap, I prayed for her eleven-year-old life.  I prayed for her decisions, her friends, her hopes and dreams, and her parents and sister.  I was grateful at age eleven, she still wanted to sit on my lap.  (Gabrielle tells me she will still sit on my lap when she is 35)  What a joy and privilege it is to have a close relationship with my grandchildren.  I love each one best until I nearly burst!

I am grateful for Thanksgiving because it keeps your blessings ever before me.  It reminds me to take stock of who I have in my life.  It challenges me to consider my faith and its central role in my life.  It directs me to look at your grace at work in my life and the lives of others and that grace circles me back to the blessings I receive daily.

Generous God,
thank you
once again
for reminding me
to give thanks.
Keep gratitude
in heart
and praise
on my lips,
I pray.

Love always, Andrea

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

My dearest God,

How is it possible to be full of hallelujahs?  My soul felt full as I drove to the monastery listening to beautiful Christmas music.  As I drove in the fog, I heard the invitation, "O come all ye faithful...".  Come to me, I heard as I felt the draw of eternity.  Come.  As I let my soul open it was as if you personally asked me, "Do you hear what I hear?  Do you see what I see?"

The very thought of gazing upon eternity, of listening for her sounds inspires, touches, and humbles me by love that allows me in.  When you open the doors of heaven, joy rushes out and inside me.  I feel overwhelmed, so much so that my eyes fill with tears and spill over down my face.

Feelings of gratitude come pouring out of me. Suddenly scenes of heaven's gifts unfold before me.  I see your work, your grace, and your kindness.  I see ways you fill me with glory just because you choose to touch me through the environment around me.  You used the fog, the drive, the music, the clearing, and even the warmth in the car.  You used the simple ordinary to reveal grace's extraordinary to me.

As I pulled into the monastery and began the walk up the steps to ring the doorbell to enter for worship, I couldn't help but give thanks.  As I looked upon my colleague, I was moved to think how you brought four people together nearly 25 years ago to make the journey of faith together.  In the silence, the note was played and a sister sang, "Lord, open our lips...," and we responded, "...and my mouth shall declare your praise."

Yes,
Gracious God,
my mouth
does declare
your praise
and why not?
What else
can I do
to show
my appreciation,
my love
and devotion,
my faith?
Thank you,
my redeemer,
for overflowing joy.
My mouth
will continue
to give you praise
again and again
and again
and...

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Dear God,

What makes the heart glad?  Is it something we do to be happy or is there a mystical reason for gladness?

The bible speaks of gladness.  Music uses the term glad.  We speak of gladness when we are pleased for someone's good fortune.  But is there something more to it than strictly being a human emotion?

When life was hard and difficulty was my daily companion, at times I had a deep experience of gladness.  Like a hidden secret, your gladness kept me from falling deeper into despair.  Knowing you were with me in my loneliness and sorrow gave me a gladness that I could not always fully understand.  How can a person walk in a deep, dark place in pain and still be glad; yet, I was.

As I consider faith as an intentional decision to partner with you in life, I feel glad.  I feel peaceful, content, serene.  Perhaps the true essence of faith is gladness.

Holy God,
mystical mover
in creation,
thank you
for faith
that makes
a difference,
that changes things,
that gives
new perspective,
that hopes
and helps us.
Thank you
for love
that seeks
to guide us,
reminding us
to trust
and walk
in faith.
Thank you
for grace
that is
the power
behind peace.

Love, Andrea

Monday, November 19, 2012

Dearest God,

At breakfast I prayed for the hungry around the world.  I thought of all those who were hungry for food but then you stretched my mind.  Aloud you had me pray for those who were hungry  for relationships, for faith, for love, for peace, comfort, and joy.  You reminded me just how many people were hungry.

Please forgive me, Lord.  Often I give thanks for the food before me and I forget to pray for those who are hungry somewhere else.  I forget there are many who are lost and alone.  They hunger for a friend, a kind stranger, or just someone who will engage them.  There are many who are afraid.  They hunger for a day free of fear.  There are many whose hearts are broken, shattered by so many things.  They hunger for a divine embrace.  There are those whose minds are cluttered with millions of tiny pieces of things.  They hunger for quiet peace.

Expand my world view so that I may see all your children, not just some, not just me.

Thank you
for reminding me
about the
whole human family.
Thank you
for making them
part of me
and me
part of them.
Teach me
responsible praying
so I
do not become
self seeking
and self serving.
Reveal to me
all my
brothers and sisters
around the world.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Dearest God,

An hour to dwell in your home is better than a day anywhere else!  Who else offers beauty, joy, comfort, refuge, peace, fellowship, love, and faith?  No one but you, O God.

Every Sunday I am drawn to worship in your church because of your rich offerings.  I go because I make myself wide open to you, to your challenge, your pointed questions, and your grace.  I listen, I look, I anticipate a movement of your spirit in my life.  Sometimes it happens as I drive to church.  Sometimes it occurs during the music, the prayers, the scripture reading, or the spoken word.  Sometimes you come in the quiet, stirring my soul.  But always you come.

But the greatest joy that emerges is not necessarily my own "conversion" but rather the knowledge that you are at work in all our lives at the same time.  Regardless of spiritual condition, economic background, race, emotional steadiness, or any other situation, you visit each one of us.  We may not be aware of what is taking place with someone else but perhaps that is better because we all have our own personal experience with you.  While one is experiencing healing, another may be gaining an insight.  As one person finds release, another is being challenged.  When one grabs hold of trust, another breathes in peace.

Visiting your household of faith is always a gift and a blessing because we are assured of your living presence.

Thank you
for all
your gifts,
your blessings,
and your graces.
A life
with you
is the
best gift
of all.

Love always, Andrea

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Dearest God,

You weave us together making an exquisite, beautiful tapestry.  You draw people together and imagine us as a unique and lovely fabric.  Then you begin your mystical work to create sacred art.  Who else could do this but you?

Today I was mindful of your handiwork as I sat in a church awaiting the wedding couple.  I thought of my dear friend whose only child was being married.  I reflected upon her life and how it was she showed up in our church one day.  A seminary student and young mother, she soon became a member of our covenant group. Before long little Maggie her daughter was coming to the church, standing by my desk pointing at her loose tooth.  I knew that meant only one thing.  I was to pull it.  Three times, three teeth, and four years later, they moved away but my friend remained close.  Even from one state away, she too was drawn back by your spiritual power to participate in the weaving you started many years ago.  Sometimes I wonder what the finished product will look like as we each one take our leave to heaven.

As we celebrated the marriage of Maggie and Jeff, I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving recognizing once again your mysterious ways, your generous grace, and your loving spirit.

Holy Father,
thank you
for your
living presence.
Thank you
for eyes
to see,
for ears
to hear,
and for
the ability
to recognize
your presence
in our midst.
Thank you,
Blessed God,
thank you.

Love, Andrea

Friday, November 16, 2012

Dearest God,

How do we fulfill your greatest destiny for our lives?  How can we reach our human potential that will change lives for the good of all people?

As I sat in the movie theater and watched the movie Lincoln, I could not help but wonder how it is some people have so many gifts for serving others.  How is that passion created?  How is determination shaped along with passion to inspire creative change?

Abraham Lincoln changed the course of history for good.  He worked ceaselessly for freedom for all people.  He wanted to liberate giving free air to all.  He blessed so many because he took his passion and determination and used them to help others.  How do we all do that?  How can we all help all others bringing about a new day for the oppressed?

How can I reach my greatest potential for you?  How can I inspire so others may find freedom from fear, doubt, pessimism, and chaos?  How can I work hand in hand with you to do your greatest good?  How can we all?

Gracious God,
help us do
your perfect will.
Show us
the way
to goodness,
compassion, and mercy.
Fix in us
the ability
and desire
to serve you
and our
fellow human beings.
Teach us
to transform ourselves
and those
around us
so we too
may be instruments
of loving service,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Dearest God,

With all my heart I believe you are the true source of joy.  On my own I may be able to be happy but with you I draw from a very deep well of joy.  Like a fountain I can spill over in thanksgiving for unexpected, undeserved blessings and I do.

A brief inventory can reveal the wondrous goods you provide.  When I am disappointed or sorrowful, you inject me with joy that shifts my thinking.  When I am helpless or hopeless, you bathe me in joy reminding me there is no such situation with you.  When I am faithless, you sprinkle me with joy that challenges my loyalty and commitment.

In the morning when I awaken to the brand new day, joy is first to welcome me. Like the brand new day, I get a brand new opportunity to start over or to pick up from the day before or to celebrate with you victories or triumphs, overcoming evil for good or asking forgiveness for something I have done and finding grace waiting for me.

Today as I begin the day I want to thank you for the wondrous gift of joy, so full, so robust, so beautiful, and so very good!

Loving God,
your many gifts
remind me
to live well,
to celebrate,
and to
be filled
with gratitude.
Thank you!

Love always, Andrea

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Dear God,

You are like a magnet drawing us to yourself.  Driving, within eight miles you drew me in.  In the early morning the huge orange ball in the sky caused me to ooh and aah.  Then as the highway began to move up a slight incline you reminded me how faith in you gives a new kind of spiritual awareness.  I suddenly became aware how you teach us to come up higher so we can move from our valleys with limited vision to high hills where we can seemingly see forever.  And then you took me back to my time of renewal where I remembered the sunrises in New Mexico, France, Italy, Ghana, and Maine.  The sheer joy of remembering your extreme goodness and beauty caused tears to well in my eyes.  Eight miles, do you really love me that much?

Over the last few miles to the monastery, you brought the title of the next retreat.  You showed me a book I could use.  You recommended an art project to go with it.  You showed me how I could bring things together.

By the time I got to the monastery I was full of you.  Was it the discipline of coming together as a covenant group for 25 years at the monastery that opened me wide to you?  Was it coming to worship?  Was it my willingness to be silent before you, to listen to what you wanted to say?  Or was it sheer grace, a decision to bless just because?

In any case I felt beautifully blessed this morning and I was very certain of the source of the blessing.

What marvelous ways
you bless us,
O Lord.
You show us
the way
to grace,
faith, and love.
You call out
to us
and then reveal
your mercy
and compassion.
Today
I was full
to overflowing
simply because
you chose
to fill me up.
Thank you,
thank you,
thank you.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Dearest God,

Your healing power is awesome!  You come to us inviting us to come closer.  In spiritually intimate moments you speak to us of transformed lives.  You give us the possibility and the opportunity.  Then your healing begins to unfold.

I used to think that healing was for sick people and it is.  But it is also for people who are downhearted, frightened, lost, stuck, depressed and disappointed.  To each of us you draw near and paint a world picture for us that looks different from where we are at a particular moment in time.  You show us the way our lives can be changed.  You remind us you are the power behind transformation.  We do not enter the process alone; neither do we direct the change.  You do that when we say yes to the invitation.

I have seen you at work again and again changing lives for good.  I have seen you lift dark, black despairing clouds.  I have witnessed you exchange peace for pain.  I have observed fear turned into faith.

As I go about my daily search for you, I marvel at what I find.  Today I celebrate a friend whose YES changed not only her own life but is changing her whole family system.  What was meant to be oppression and terror by some, you have turned into tools for health, joy, comfort, and peace.  Wow!

Gracious God,
thank you
for grace
that can
change anything.
Thank you
for hope
that gives life
the nudge
it needs
for transformation.
Thank you
for love
that breathes in
new life.
Thank you
for joy
that is
an expression
of our acknowledgement
and appreciation
of faith
that has
the power
to make
creative change.

Love always, Andrea

Monday, November 12, 2012

Dear God,

Thank you for placing people into our hearts so we can pray for them.  Thank you for warming our spirits so we receive the request with willingness and desire to reach out in tender care.

My doctor is dying.  In his early fifties he has melanoma cancer that has spread.  You will take him home in a few months.

Nearly six years ago this doctor's name kept coming to me when I was desperate to find a doctor to help me with a mysterious illness.  Doctor to many doctors he took me in and began to offer diagnostic care.  He gave hope and returned me to a more normal life.  All these years he has provided wonderful care. With a loving way and knowledgeable information he has tended to the needs of so many patients.  Now he can only care for himself.  So many are sad and want to give something back.

And so I pray for him considering the letter of thanksgiving I want to write.  Perhaps I can offer the kind of hope he gave me for I have come to realize that hope can be the last thing to die within us.  And maybe we can die with it, allowing hope to be the measure of faith that we take with us to heaven.

Loving God,
please give
my doctor
loving care.
Bless him
with all
the gifts
he has
given others.
Bless his family
who needs
hope too.
And his office
filled with staff
who love
him too.
Thank you.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Dear God,

How well I remember the darkness.  As I soared singing in worship this morning, I thought of others going through darkness.  I thought of how dark the darkness can be when entered alone or without faith.  I thought of how darkness can claim the soul when the person going through it has no light.

When I think of the darkness, oh my creator, I remember bouts with family estrangement, breast cancer, marriage difficulties, and issues of self doubt.  I recall those dark times when the darkness itself threatened to overtake me.  I remember how fear tortured me in the loss and sadness.

But more than all these, I remember the still, small voice in the darkness, the hope that came as I blinked long enough looking for you and finding you in my midst.  I remember how that hope sustained me giving me comfort and peace.  I remember love pervading the darkness and overtaking it to give me the light.  I remember the light offering me joy so I could celebrate and in the midst of the celebration I experienced your glory.  That's just how it was.

As I consider those in great suffering, I pray for your word to come.

Loving God,
we are
your children,
every single one
of us.
Thank you
for the gift
of being part
of your family.
Thank you
for darkness
that allows
for the light.
Thank you,
Wondrous Creator,
for the darkness
and the light.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Dear God,

How deep is the well of trust?  How far can we go to drink from it?

When life is extremely difficult, you offer us trust as a way to cope.  You come like a mother to a fussy child. You lay your hand on our brow and sing the song of faith to us.  You remind us that life is a journey, one that is ever moving.  You tell us to move forward, not stay stuck where we are.  You take our hand and let us know we are not alone.  You show us hope and give us opportunity to take it from the shelf.  You urge us to grow and change.  You reveal to us how we can live a new life.

I remember how you came to me in troubled times.  Today as I consider those blessed gifts, I am grateful.

Merciful God,
thank you
for creating
a very
deep well
of trust.
Thank you
for the blessings
that come
with trust
like peace,
love, and joy.
May I
never forget
your offerings
and always live
in gratitude.

Love, Andrea

Friday, November 9, 2012

Dearest God,

You open the doors to forgiveness.  When we grow hardened by life circumstances, you show us how to open ourselves to you so that you may do your redeeming work.

Today I had cause to pause, to remember, and give thanks for your compassionate care.  An incident occurred that reminded me of the past when I was unable to forgive.  I recalled the perceived need to protect my heart from more disappointment, sorrow, and pain.  Day and night a sentry stood at the door to my heart so that I might not be caught off guard.  Yet, you came like a cool, gentle rain on a hot, sticky humid day.  You breathed life into me.  You called me to rise from the dead so I could receive the gifts you had for me.  You washed me clean with gracious mercy.  Healing came and forgiveness took up residence.

As I watched the door swing open this evening, I realized how your compassionate care can lead us to new life, peace, and joy.

Thank you
for love
that stretches beyond
life circumstances.
Thank you
for the mechanism
that opens doors
to the soul.
Thank you
for your willingness
to heal
and make us whole.

Love, Andrea

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Dear God,

I love how you tease with beauty.  In the early morning hours as I watch the light roll out of the darkness revealing the earth in my teeny space in the world, I see frost, the first hint of approaching winter.  My heart begins to beat faster, my joy rises, and a smile spreads from ear to ear.  The next season, my favorite, is coming and I hear the author of Ecclesiastes speaking, "There is a time and season for everything..." and I know creation is paused ready to give birth to winter.

Something inside of me awakens to each season of nature.  In the winter I snuggle down allowing my soul to breathe in the air of Christmas.  I sense the wonderment.  I see the donkey leaving its home for the city, the pregnant mother, and the father leading the way.  I know in a few weeks I will hear the baby's cry once again and I will give my heart to him in gratitude and thanksgiving.

Today as I think about it, I want to climb the steps to the attic to retrieve Christmas pajamas, my seasonal snow persons, my lights and baubles, and my olive wood nativity scene.  I want to put on my Christmas music and begin sewing the Christmas surprises for my family.  I want to prepare to meet you once again in the mystery of the season, in the cold and darkness.  I want to greet Jesus once again.

Holy God,
thank you
for anticipation,
for the season
to come,
and for
the joy
of Advent
and Christmas.
Thank you
for my desire
to prepare
for your coming.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Dear God,

How does music waft into our soul?  How does it do its magic on us?

I returned to the church choir after many months.  After greeting old friends, we began to sing.  At first I felt unsure whether I would be able to sing Sunday's song but then the mystery of love settled down inside me and the music and I became one.  How did it happen?  Was it the lyrics, the tune, the melody, what?

"Give thanks and sing praise", we offered as we continued to rehearse the song.  It was then I realized that faith is the means by which the music moves inside us.  It is faith that hearkens us to the ever-deepening relationship with you.  It is faith that warms our soul, opening it to greater levels of grace and hope and trust and love.  It connects us with you, yet another beautiful opportunity to meet you in the celebration of life.

You are good
and so full
of mercy,
Gracious God.
You tend
to our souls
much like
a faithful gardener
tends her garden.
Thank you
for the gifts,
the surprises,
the blessings,
and the challenges.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Dear God,

Thank you for the opportunity to witness the struggle for faith in the midst of life changes.  I love reading Amish novels because in print they give a peek into the life of a group of people that seek to live in faith in the daily practices of life.  Following the Ordnung, their book of rules, they work to follow the rules in order to maintain community.

Each time I open a new book I listen for common struggles in all our lives with regard to questions of faith, desires for life, hopes and dreams, and a need to live life with you.  I watch as characters search for truth always finding more faith as they pray and walk the fine line of belief, practice, and doubt.  An eternal optimist I love it when they gain insights, learn lessons, and grow in their understanding of you and the ways they can reach you and find you in the midst of the struggle.

As I periodically struggle to find meaning and value in everything that comes my way, I always know there is room to grow, to question, to doubt, to solicit new understandings, and to build trust.  The genius of faith!

Gracious God,
thank you
for periods
of questioning,
for the struggle
that causes us
to rethink,
reevaluate, and
reorder our lives.

Love, Andrea

Monday, November 5, 2012

Dearest God,

If only we would take the hand of our neighbor and our neighbor's neighbor to help alleviate human suffering, how much closer we would be in making a beautiful, peaceful world for all.  You, O God, are the source of our help, our comfort, and our strength.  Only you can move us beyond the borders of our selves to reach those in need.

"God helps us," our new Pakistani friend told us, "when we need to do something, when we need to help someone else."  We had been talking about a commitment to help the world's pain.  He is committed to assisting his workers in educating their children.  "As Christians we too believe God can help us to make a difference."  My husband responded.

Having traveled to several different places in the world, I have talked with many people of different color, race, religion, culture, and background.  Although we are dramatically different in various ways, we speak the same language when we talk about the world's ills and ails and our need and desire to care for our children.

As we make ready to send our new friend to his next destination with Rotary International, we celebrate our common humanity and desire to better the world.  No matter whether we talk about Allah or Yahweh we speak of the same God, the same loving God who cares for each child of the planet.  I am exceedingly grateful.

Thank you,
Wondrous God,
for sending people
into our lives.
Thank you
for challenges
that help us realize
the goals
you have set
before us.
Show us
the way
to peace,
love, and joy
for all.

Forever yours, Andrea

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Dearest God,

At first it seemed quiet, a typical worship service.  But a call for the saints brought me to my knees as I listened for the names of those who had died the last year.  Too many that we knew, bright and shining faces of men and women whose love we returned for a number of years...Hal, Sue, Beulah, Faye.  I remembered them in my mind's eyes as people of joy with lots of love and faith to go around.  I missed them.

Later in the service when the pastor invited the communion stewards to come forward, I witnessed living saints walking toward the altar ready to serve you and the congregation, the family really.  Harold and I released our hands from each other to walk forward to partake, to eat and drink the holy meal.  As I took  your gifts from Larry and Judy, I whispered to them that I considered them two of the saints of the church.  They smiled as I walked on.  As we sat back down, I watched as the family of God streamed down the aisles to eat from the same table.

Even as the choir sang the anthem, I whispered to Harold.  "Look, there's two saints that have undoubtedly spent hundreds of hours praying for our ministry and our family."  As he nodded in agreement tears formed in my eyes, tears of gratitude and celebration.  During the rest of the service I looked around searching for authentic lives of faithful people who took seriously their commitment to serve you.  I was inspired.  Your spirit seemed to rain down upon us.

As we sang the final hymn and started out the side aisle to get back to a guest waiting at our home, I sensed again your living presence and I breathed a sigh of thanksgiving.

Holy God,
your spirit nourishes,
fills, and challenges
my soul.
How could
I love anyone
more than you?
For you
have loved me
more than
any other.
I am blessed.

Always, Andrea

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Dear God,

You continue to bring people into our lives that teach us more about you.  We agreed to have a rotary exchange person come to stay in our home for a few days.  Today when he arrived, we asked him lots of questions and listened to him as he told us about his native home and religion.  The more I listened to him, the more I realized how in tune I must stay in order to be close to you.

Our exchange friend is from Pakistan.  He is Muslim.  As I listened to him share the important value of his family, his faith, and his commitment to help others through polio eradication and flood relief, I thought about my own need to help others.  I thought about the ways you nudge me to help suffering people.  It is my faith, my relationship to you, that inspires me to do the work of hope, to reach out to others bringing hope, comfort, and peace.

On the way to dinner at a Rotarian's home, I told Awaisa how the Muslim call to prayer while we visited the Holy Land in the 1990's reminded me to pray to you, to give thanks, to pray for my own need to live a greater life of faith, and to pray for peace for the peoples, all the peoples of that region.

I am grateful for the gentle reminder to pray more, to be active in my own Christian faith, and to work together with peoples from around the world to make for peace and harmony for all.

Thank you,
dearest God,
for strangers
who teach me
more about faith
and our need
to remain close
to you.
Sway me
to your side
when I stray
or forget
or neglect you.
Forgive me,
I pray.
Thank you
for Awaisa.

Always, Andrea

Friday, November 2, 2012

Dearest God,

No one can give hope like you can, Great Comforter.  When hope is gone, vanished, a certain kind of paralysis sets in.  Nothing functions right.  There is a basic stoppage.  Even breathing takes great effort.  Despair takes over like a robber in the night.  But when a tiny light reveals itself  in the deep darkness, hope emerges breaking down the whole process of hopelessness.  Anyone who has experienced it knows you are the source of hope.

This afternoon I spoke with a person whose life at times has been marked by hopelessness and despair. When difficult times challenged her, she would fall into that dark black hole.  Today when we talked, she shared another tough situation taking place right now but I noticed she was different.  She remained buoyed up in hope trusting you to take care of what she cannot.

I am amazed by your tender efforts to help us.  You come like a gentle, cool breeze, on a hot, humid day.  You breathe your own spirit upon us giving us relief from our pain and sorrow.  As we suck in your life-giving presence, hope races through us at incomparable speeds.  And we live again.

Mighty God,
Compassionate Friend,
thank you
for your
merciful care.
Thank you
for your
loving grace
that breathes
new life
into us.
Daily teach us
to turn
to you
in times
of darkness
and light,
in sorrow
and joy,
in hopelessness
and hopefulness.
Show us how
to always remain
at your side,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Dear God,

All Saints Day is today and my mind turns to the saints of old and also contemporary saints who still bless, give witness, and pray.  I think of the saints who have inspired me, touching my life in deep ways like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Bernadette of Lourdes.  I remember how I was drawn to pilgrim to France and Italy in 2005 to journey in faith with them even hundreds of years after their death. I visited sites where their lives became public testimonies to faith and trust in you.  Their stories called for a renewal in my own.

I think of my grandmother, Lois Evelyn Hughes, who still touches souls as well.  A remembrance of her brings me to love you more and practice my faith more diligently.  A bio sheet on a young student who just received scholarship funds in her name at my seminary where I created a scholarship fund more than 20 years ago reminds me how she still stirs hearts because of her well of faith.

And then there are the three monastic communities, every one of them saints in their own right.  The Carmelites took me in back in 1988.  They welcomed my covenant group, inviting us weekly to worship and pray together.  When I had cancer, family problems, and church challenges, they prayed and their faith brought comfort, joy, and hope.  The Sisters of St. Joseph offered warm hospitality to me as I lead and experienced many retreats.  It was there I finally met the woman, the sister whose name I carry, Sister Andrea.  At the age of 101 and suffering from dementia, the one time I was there she was lucid and remembered working at the hospital where she helped my mother give birth.  She took my hands and we prayed for one another.  The Benedictines opened me to surrender at a remote monastery in northwest New Mexico.  Each week my covenant group worships with them and they have made space for our own spiritual direction.  Saints, all saints, bless them, I pray.

Good God,
thank you
for the saints
who have gifted
my life.
Thank you
for their faith,
their servanthood,
their devotion,
and their love
of you.
Thank you
for the mystery
of faith
and Christian life
beyond the grave
that touches
and inspires
even today.

Always yours, Andrea

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Dearest God,

The bells were ringing as I entered the monastery.  I picked up my psalm book, bowed toward the altar, and then sat down by my colleague.  As we stood to sing the opening phrase, "O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise," I sighed and then breathed in deeply your living presence.  I drank in the psalms, the words of an open heart, the music, and the light.

As I filled myself with faith, tradition, belief, and community, I experienced so much joy even down into my toes.  What is it about monastic liturgy that makes my heart sing and my soul soar?  Why and how am I so drawn to your life among the monastics?

As we prayed your prayer and the service ended, I felt full, refreshed, challenged, and loved.

Holy God,
so full
of goodness
and grace,
thank you
for your spirit
among the monastics.
Thank you
for the word,
liturgy, and song.
I am grateful
for the sense
of community,
one voice,
one hope,
one faith.
Thank you
for giving me
the privilege
of blending
my own voice
with yours
and theirs.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Dear God,

Your children come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.  They speak in different languages.  Last Friday I met one of your kids, an older woman with just a few teeth, a southern Arkansas drawl, and a heart as big as the ocean.

It had rained on our tent.  No, that's not quite right; it had rained through our tent. It was early and dark.  I heard it start raining but then noticed that the raindrops seemed very close.  I pulled my arm out of my warm and cozy sleeping bag and held out my palm.  Sure enough it was raining straight through the tent creating a rainfall inside the tent.  I cried out to my camping friend who recognized four bulging pocket corners where rain had collected and was threatening to collapse the tent.  In our pajamas we pushed up the four corners and then ran outside where the poles were falling.  All in all we were soaked.  We were able to save the tent but not the sleeping bags and many of our clothes.  So we made our way to a decaying laundromat.  It was there we met one of your own.

"I just love my job", she told us, "I've been here for 15 years."  Over the course of the next half hour she joked with us and told us how nice each owner had been.  She talked about teenagers who came in to tan themselves in the tanning booth and then returned to give her their prom pictures that were proudly displayed from top to bottom on her closet door.  She invited us in to see letters and pictures given to her by children whose parents are regulars in the laundromat.  She pointed to an old glass case with all sorts of trinkets and homemade items all gifts from children across the years of her service.  As we collected all our laundry, she walked us out into the misting rain.  She wished us a good weekend and invited us back to visit.  She waved as we drove away.

Sometimes I think you bring us into the company of particular people who teach us a lesson or give us an example of Christian life and practice.  Clearly, the cheerful worker at the Nashville laundromat filled that bill and blessed us on a cold, windy, rainy day.

Thank you
for friends
who reveal themselves
to us
in the journey
of life.
Thank you
for their messages
of hope,
faith, encouragement,
and love.
Thank you
for this lady
whose name
I have
sadly forgotten.
Bless her today,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Monday, October 29, 2012

Dear God,

As my husband and I celebrate older birthdays this year, I pause to consider the ways you have journeyed with us through the mountains and valleys of life.  A steady look at the past reveals dead ends and high mountain views, stuck places and free wheeling, scary drives and photographic scenes.  In every case you have been the one constant, the living presence in our journeys through life.

There are those undeniable places where we got stuck and stayed quite a long time; yet, you were there urging us to move on, to look forward, to let go, and to take a risk.  Sometimes we were ready and raring to go.  There were other times that we stayed in the muck and mire, the scenery dull and threatening.  But each time you were patient, making offers of a better life, growth, new challenges, and greater days ahead.

Today as I ponder our journeys, I give thanks.

You, O God,
are great
and wonderful.
You are compassionate
and kind.
You are forgiving
and loving.
You are
the source
of all
that is good
in life.
Teach us
to more closely
follow you
separately and together,
I pray.

Love, Andrea