Thursday, April 28, 2022

Dear God,

One member of the circle of my devotional friends wrote the book, "Nothing but God".  He offers words and faith of Meister Eckhart, a Catholic mystic and Dominican friar from the 13th century.  As I listen to his beliefs and practices, I asked myself the question, "How can I have nothing but God in my life?"

As I listened with ears of the spirit, I have come to realize more fully that God is not just another part of our life, however small or large.  God is not someone over there.  Our relationship with God is not part time.  Our life in God is every day, everywhere, every moment.

As I listened, really listened to your spirit, Meister Eckhart's words took deeper root in my own spirit.  Of course, nothing but God, I finally acknowledged.  As I felt my heart open, I sensed your spirit speaking.  Yes, indeed, nothing but God.

Thank you,

Holy Father,

for allowing us

to be

in you

and you

in me.

Thank you

for drawing us closer.

Teach us

more and more

how to

count you

at the center

of all

that is.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Dear God,

No one offers what you offer to your children.  Your gifts are sacred treasures of great value.  And they are available daily.

When we look outside our window, we may see a lovely garden of colorful, blooming plants and trees. Or we can gaze out the window and see not only the beautiful garden but also a peek at creation at its finest.  We can see the majesty of creation, the miracle of all her colors and textures and shapes.  We can witness your handiwork, the soil that holds the seed, the sun that warms the ground and the sky that provides the rain.  We can see the gentle breeze of your spirit as the whole garden dances to your song.  We can discover the incredible work of birds building nests, laying eggs, keeping them warm and safe, helping give birth and at just the right time nudging the birds from the nest for independence and freedom.  

A garden or a master artist's touch?

Loving Creator,

thank you

for all

the eye

can see.

Thank you

for beauty

that stretches

beyond our imagination.

Thank you

for love

that provides

it all.

Yours, Andrea

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Dear God,

"The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light."  The scripture popped right off the page as I read my devotions this morning.  Who does not know the darkness?  In this chaotic world, darkness seems to be everywhere.  Children are being heinously murdered.  Tyrants are taking what is not theirs to take.  Politicians are dividing nations.  Opioids are claiming the lives of young people.  People are starving.  Citizens are leaving their homelands because of violence.  All these are horrible examples of darkness, O Father.

Yet, the light has not been stomped out.  Volunteers by the millions are feeding hungry people, housing refugees, caring for the homeless, mentally ill and others affected by economic woes.  People and nations are giving what they can to assist in a host of difficult issues.  Others are praying, offering help and loving more than ever.  These are but a few of the ways your light is shining in the world.

Help us

be light,

O God.

Help us shine

like never before.

Help us

promote peace

and hope

that comes

with your light.

Love, Andrea

Monday, April 25, 2022

Dear God,

Everyday tasks teach us lessons about life, faith and hope.  If we are open to you, we will be touched by opportunities to learn and grow.

Today's lesson came from an old, old door, well over 100 years old, maybe older than that.  Cracked, dry, chipped and scarred, she is the last of the doors and windows to be refurbished in the upstairs of our 200-year-old home.  I put her off long enough.  It was finally time for renovation.

As I cleaned and sanded and cleaned some more, I was able to remove all the old paint drips, loose paint and mars.  Then I filled all the cracks and empty spaces with wood filler.  After this letter I will sand and clean one more time before priming and painting.  But already I am discovering the work of your spirit.  

Humans, in this case me, are like the door.  We too have cracks, chips and scars.  We are sometimes dry and lifeless.  Like the door, we need restoration and renewal.  All that we can remove are old and sometimes bad habits, broken dreams, long-lasting grudges, rough edges and unresolved sins.  But again, like the door, we can be remade, brought back to a new life. 

You give us choices of what we want to surrender from our life and what we want to fill it up with.  We can let go of the bad, the broken, the stained, the resentment and everything else that hinders us from the good life.  Then we can decide what we want to fill us up.  Things like love, faith, hope, strength, courage and peace can begin the good work on and in us. More than anything it is the great chance to let you fill us up with you.

Loving carpenter,

do your work

on and

in us.

Help us

surrender all

that prohibits us

from a

better life.

Then open us

to your

life-sustaining power.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Dear God,

Hands, you ask us to look at our hands.  Are our hands open or fisted?  Are they used for compassionate acts?  Do they hold, embrace and love well?  Or are they used for pushing and shoving?  Do they receive or take?

One of the things I remember most was my grandmother's hands.  They held the word of God.  They fixed our favorite meals.  They grew flowers, berries and vegetables.  They sewed quilts for others.  They canned tomatoes at a local canning factory to have money to buy Christmas gifts.  They were held in the posture of prayer.  They were used to love.

Sometimes my hands are kept to my side instead of reaching out.  Sometimes they are balled up when I grow frustrated.  Sometimes they lack strength to do your will.  Sometimes.

I want my hands to be your hands.  Use them as you will.  Teach me the value of open, loving, giving hands, I pray, O Lord.

Thank you

for my

grandmother's hands

who always

used them

to love us.

Thank you

for teachers,

parents and

neighbors' hands

who helped,

guided and

lifted up.

Thank you

for every hand

that blesses.

Yours, Andrea

Saturday, April 23, 2022

Dear God,

Today was an interesting day, O God, as I drove the final miles home.  One thousand fifty-eight miles from Indiana to Maine.  Once again, I gave you thanks for seeing me safely home.

Along the way today you brought to mind those issues in my life that I had thought for years were impossible.  I never dreamed I could travel alone and actually get to my destination.  I never dreamed I could face down breast cancer.  I never dreamed I could enroll in college and seminary and complete two degrees.  I never dreamed I could become a pastor and preach standing before a congregation.  I never dreamed I could believe in myself as a beloved child of God.  All these, O Lord, are because of you.  It was your belief in me, your love for me and your power to help me overcome my doubt, fear and unbelief.  It was you, Almighty, Powerful and Compassionate God.

Thank you

for daily gifts.

Thank you

for courage

and strength,

the kind

that originate

in heaven.

Thank you

for actually

giving them

to me.

Love always, Andrea

Friday, April 22, 2022

Dear God,

How wonderful to drive through the countryside on my way to Maine.  As I gazed upon budding trees and blooming flowers, my mind wandered to you as creator.  I realized all I was looking at was created by your design and your hand.  I broke into a smile and began to sing, "O Lord, my God! when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed.  Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee; how great thou art, how great thou art.  Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee; how great thou art, how great thou art."

All of creation cries out in praise, O Lord, when we each and all acknowledge your creation and your hand in it. Mile after mile I could see you, hear the songs of praise and breathe my prayers of thanksgiving!

Holy God,

thank you

for your

wondrous creation.

We are blessed

by you

and your creation.

Thank you

for all

living things.

Yours, Andrea

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Dear God, 

Although we may make plans for our daily life, we need always remember there are times when our plans will go awry.  We can become frustrated, angry and resentful.  However, there may be a wondrous surprise awaiting us.

We like to think we are masters of our own lives and for sure we can be.  But do we really want to?  Do we want to regiment every hour of our life?  Do we want to fill every moment with our own desires?  Or do we want to begin each day with a prayer for your will, O Lord, because if we do, we leave room for your movement in our life.  There will be moments of silence, awe and wonder.  In the midst of these holy moments, you can speak to us.  You can take us on adventures, journeys of faith and even lead us down unfamiliar paths that can reveal amazing treasures.

Lead us,

O God,

lead us.

Show us

the way

to peace

and hope

and joy.

Guide us

by faith

to you,

I pray.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Dear God,

Today I spoke of final things, an ending, a sad ending.  It is not what I wanted but after 37 years I finally became too weary to go further so I stepped quietly away.  It was not easy but the alternative was to continue the same dysfunctional pattern where everyone else seems to want to maintain.  I do not.

After all these years you simply told me it was okay to take a step off the path and to chart my own way and so I am.  What I have learned from you is that we are much more able to do things we thought impossible.  With the gifts of your spirit, we are enabled and empowered to move in a new direction, leaving behind the familiar, the failure and the faint-hearted way of doing things.

You are God;

there is none

like you.

With you

all things

are possible.

Thank you

for making things possible

for me.

I love you.

Yours, Andrea

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Dear God,

Your gifts are beyond imagination.  When we consider our own gifts, we imagine them as less than they are.  Yet, when faced with great challenges, you give us strength, courage and power to overcome or to triumph.

Irena Sandler was one such person.  A Catholic woman with great compassion and heart for others, she rose up with great wisdom, love and determination to put in place resistance cells to smuggle more than 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi occupation.  The book, Irena's Children, revealed the unimaginable ways she took dangerous risks to save them.

All these years later, those children and their children and their children are living and telling their stories of hope, faith and miracles.  

You, O God,

are the

power, strength

wisdom, hope

and courage giver.

On our own

we can

do so little

but with you

we can do

so much.

Thank you,

Almighty God.

Love, Andrea

Monday, April 18, 2022

Dear God,

In great and small ways, you comfort and care for us.  When we are down, you lift us up.  When we are wrong, you are like a burr under a saddle reminding us there is a better way.  When we are lost, you help us find our way.

In times of chaos and conflict we can always become confused, frustrated and afraid.  We can lose our footing and our radar.  We can sink into despair and become paralyzed; however, when we cry out to you and fall at your feet with no answers, no solution and no way, you whisper your love to us first.  You want us to know we are not alone and we are not unloved.  You are with us and you love us.

As I watch events in Ukraine, my prayer is they feel your presence, O God, and that they know of your love.  Help them, comfort and bless them for their loss and sorrow is great.

You are God;

there is none

like you.

Your love

is from everlasting

to everlasting.

Hold tight

to your

wounded children,

dear God,

for they

need you

so much.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Dear God,

I am so grateful for Easter because you remind us of love that has no beginning or end.  Love just is and it is for every person and all of us at the same time.  The beauty of your kind of love teaches us that you have the final word and that word is always love.  

So often we categorize people into different groups...saved and unsaved, Christians and non-Christians and so on.  But not you, you are God to us all, Lover of us all, Savior of us all.  Eventually your love claims all of us.  

When we are desperate for good news, this good news will lift us up.  It is intended to do so.  

Holy God,

thank you

for claiming us

with your love.

Forgive us

when we forget

we are loved,

supremely and unconditionally.

Help us

to learn

how to love

as you love

so we

can help

save the world.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Dear God,

Last night I was restless.  Recent events paraded in my mind.  The more I saw, the more restless and disturbed I became.  I recognized the fact that I was spiraling in my mind.  And that is when it happened!

In the dark night of my soul, I cried out to you.  I felt your presence but I also felt a growing disturbance.  Back and forth for a couple of hours, I ranted quietly and then I cried out to you.  All of a sudden I saw Jesus standing beside me.  With a sweet smile on his face, he held the little lamb on his shoulders.  Intuitively I knew I was the lamb.  Over and over again I whispered, "I am the lamb.  I am the lamb.  I am the lamb."  Tears filled my eyes.  "What did I ever do to deserve this kind of love, dear God?"  I thought to myself.  Nothing, I acknowledged because the truth is every person is a little lamb when in trouble.

Thank you,

Holy God,

for the

beautiful love

you provide.

You bless

every one

of your children.

Thank you

for blessing me

last night.

The dark night

became light

for me.

Love, Andrea

Friday, April 15, 2022

Dear God,

Today as Christians we recognize Good Friday.  Today we remember Jesus crucified.  In remembering his crucifixion, we need to remember all those who are being crucified simply by being who they are.  Native Americans have been robbed, cheated and given so little.  African Americans still get shot, marginalized and ruined because they are black.  The poor are kept poor by white demands.  And it goes on and on.

Today as we remember you, dearest God, you invite us to remember your beloved children being destroyed as well.  

Holy Father,

will we

always destroy

one another?

Will we fail

to do

as you ask

to love

one another?

Show us

the way home,

Gracious God,

so, we

may learn

and love

once again.

Yours, Andrea

Thursday, April 14, 2022

Dear God,

Even before the sun rose this morning the little bird, perched on a branch of our Japanese Cherry tree outside my window, sang her morning song of praise.  I paused from my devotions to listen, to learn and to reflect on what it means to give praise before sunrise.

For weeks this beautiful, unidentified bird has appeared in the early morning.  And every morning she sings, sometimes looking straight at me.  I am not sure what she is; I just know I am drawn to her daily message.  I believe she has the right idea singing her thanksgiving to the God who made her.

Teach me

to sing

your praise

first thing

in the morning,

Holy God.

I too wish

to give praise.

I thank you

for the

new day

and all

its possibilities.

May I sing

for you too!

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Dear God,

In times of difficulty, we need only reflect upon nature and its lessons for humanity.  They offer us hope, faith, trust, grace and peace.

Trees, flowers and plants all appear dead in winter; yet suddenly they spring up reminding us of what appears to be dead is still alive.  Brown grass becomes green again.  Flowers bloom.  Trees bud.  Birds mate, nest and bring new life all the while singing their praises to the one and only God who whispers their name.  Rain comes offering the drink of heaven and nature grows wider, taller and deeper.  When we are thirsty for new life, all we need do is look outside our window to see and hear nature and her own song.

Teach us

to look

for signs

of new life.

Help us become

the new life

others need

to see.

Put a song

in our heart,

soul and mind

so we too

can sing

a song

of praise.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Dear God,

True, authentic peace only comes from you.  We may look in every direction for peace that is real peace, but it is not the peace you give.

Right now in a world where it seems evil darkness has all the power, it is difficult to find shalom peace.  Our hearts, minds and souls are restless and fearful.  We often find ourselves stuck in this place of terror; yet, peace is still possible but only with you.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was filled with fear.  I could not think of peace because there was no space for it within me.  So I stayed in fear.  Only when I realized I was helpless and powerless and I let go did I find the peace you were always offering.  

As I reflect upon my Ukrainian brothers and sisters, I want to rage and rise up to destroy the destroyer. I want to give peace to them.  Yet, I do not have the power to give such peace.  I can only help to bring peace when I pray and act in peace and do my part for sisters and brothers so far away.

Oh Lord,

please give peace

to all those

who suffer

especially your

Ukrainian children.

Make it deep.

Please eradicate

our need

for power

at the expense

of others.

Pour out

your love power,

I pray.

Love, Andrea

Monday, April 11, 2022

Dear God,

Daily you call our name.  You whisper your love.  You ask us to respond.  Whether it be an affirmation of love, a challenge or a convicting call to change, you reach out to us.

Life is simply a relationship between two, parent and child.  All day long you reach out to us wanting us to stay close, to walk together and to wander the earth in wonder. If we choose to take the chance, we will live all our days in relationship to you.

Holy God,

thank you

for making possible

an amazing relationship

with you.

Thank you

for remembering us,

for calling us

and for 

taking us in.

Thank you

for gentle calls,

long walks,

challenging conversations,

reminders of faith

and love,

so much love.

Yours, Andrea

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Dear God,

Thank you for faith that gives us opportunity to know you, to be loved by you and to love you right back.  When I think of faith, I remember drawing so close to you when I was diagnosed with two kinds of breast cancer.  You stood with me through two mastectomies.  As a child I remember listening to my grandmother pray my name as she knelt beside her bed. I was comforted. When I was facing a divorce, you came to me, held me up and kept me going.  

But more than all of these, you called me to be a pastor who walked with others through hell, to share the story of the gospel with congregations and to lead retreats for all of us to pilgrim walk together.  You allowed me to be your hands as I did mission work, your mouth as I helped people know your love and your feet as we stepped through crushing situations together.  To be your partner in ministry helped us all to take your love to all.

Faith not only sustains me, but it also sustains all who simply take your hand and walk forward.  Faith brings us back to life after we fall.  Faith shows us love like we can get nowhere else.  Faith offers us grace, hope, joy, compassion and peace.  Faith is the ultimate gift you give to us, O Lord.

Thank you,

Father,

for loving us

so much.

Thank you

for faith

that connects us

to you.

Thank you

for every blessing

you give

to us

and to all.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, April 9, 2022

Dear God,

This must be the week for remarkable healing.  Not only did I witness the healing of a sister and cousins but also for two daughters and their families.  How can it be that you are so generous?

Through my own misunderstanding and mistake, four or five years ago I brought great pain to the surface among my three daughters.  I contributed more pain, sorrow and anger to trouble brewing under the surface.  When it came out, all three daughters stepped back and out of each other's lives.  My own heart was broken that I caused brokenness in my children.  Why does a mother bring pain to her children?

But today it was different.  Two daughters and their families came together for an Easter meal at my home.  I made only their favorite foods to order.  We prayed, ate and played games.  We teased, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed one another's company.  We hugged one another goodbye as they left seven hours later.  

Only a generous God could initiate such a healing!

Thank you,

Miracle God,

for your 

wondrous grace.

You pour out

your amazing love

upon broken children.

We felt

the waters

of healing today.

Thank you.

Love, Andrea

Friday, April 8, 2022

Dear God,

Yesterday I realized once again that you are a miracle God, a healing God.  For your mercy is greater than any compassion found on earth.

I watched with great joy two cousins hug one another and weep.  It has probably been 50 years since they have come together in one place.  Their animosity, resentment and bitterness kept them apart.  What initiated the healing, I do not know.  Maybe they were just tired of hating.  

Strangely enough, their healing seemed to rub off on the rest of us.  My sister who still reels from the deep sorrow and loss of the murder of her son seemed to find some easing of her own pain.  Perhaps she thought if you could heal these family members in an impossible situation, maybe you could heal her.

Blessed are you,

Loving God.

Thank you

for the gift

of reconciliation

and healing.

Thank you

for unconditional love

that is

always deeper

than any emotion

we are capable

of feeling.

Love always, Andrea

Thursday, April 7, 2022

Dear God,

Tonight my heart was heavy for the Ukranian people.  How can people be so cruel, unjust and greedy?  How can you kill innocent people, especially children?  I simply cannot conceive this reality!  

What is so deep within us that we think we can kill so easily?  Is evil so deep and deadly in each of us that we can turn on a dime and do what we want to others without provocation or cost?  

I have always believed love is deeper yet but why do some stop at evil and never go deeper.  How can we move to love and never stop at evil's doorstep?

Change us,

transform us,

remake us,

Holy and Loving God.

We need cleansing.

We all

hurt others.

We are

all guilty.

Help us,

Lord,

I pray.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Dear God,

In the surgery room I felt the medicine as it entered my oxygen tube and as directed, I fell into a twilight sleep.  As the doctor and nurses tended to my surgical procedure, I slept trusting strangers to give me excellent medical care.

Trust, trust, what a giant expectation and yet, that is what I held onto as medical professionals identified my health issues and took care of me.  Trust, that is what you call us to by faith, O God.  For how can we have faith if we do not have trust?

Loving God,

you created trust

so we

might have faith.

You show us

the way

to trust you,

ourselves and others.

On this 

day especially

I give 

you thanks

for loving me.

Yours, Andrea

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Dear God,

There is no one who gives more gifts than you.  There is no one whose love for us is greater!  There is no one who blesses or inspires us more.

When I gaze out the window, all I see are gifts, your gifts.  The budding trees, singing birds and flowers breaking through the crusty soil all sing your praise.  When families laugh and play together, they reveal the gift of your love.  When worship unfolds and hearts open, your majesty, wisdom and power fill the space.  All these are your gifts.  They all point to you, God Most High.

Blessed are you,

God of all.

All your gifts

display your

living presence

in the world.

Thank you

for the revelation

this morning.

Love, Andrea 

Monday, April 4, 2022

Dear God,

Your ways are not our ways, O Lord.  We forget who we are when we opt for our own way.  We lose sight of the divine, of the better way.  When we do so, life often begins to spiral out of control.

On the other hand, when we take your hand and follow your nod, we find strength we did not know we had, courage that rises up and hope that seemed impossible.  We can enter peace because we are not full up of our own stuffing.  

Teach us

your way

once again,

O God.

Do not

give up

on us.

Lead us

to green pastures

and streams

of living faith.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Dear God,

Tables, the preacher talked about tables this morning.  Oh, how pictures of tables formed in my mind!  My grandmother's table, my mother's table, my own tables, the tables of my churches and the tables on retreat.  The word, table, alone brings sublime joy to my soul.

The faith-forming table was my grandmother's table.  Everyone was welcomed at her table.  No one was turned away.  Love rested on that table on every dish and glass and silver.  The farm fare in each bowl, plate and platter fed the soul as well as the belly.  There was magic and mystery and healing at that table and when we were full to overflowing, we scooted our chair back, stood up and walked away full of everything we needed when we came.  And although my grandmother has been gone for nearly 40 years, I still remember her table, the dining room as well as the kitchen table.  Even now all these years later, I am full.

Holy God,

thank you

for bringing

Grandma's table

to me today.

Thank you

for faith

that was made

at her table.

Thank you too

for all

the love

that was served.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, April 2, 2022

Dear God,

The word keeps coming.  Although I want to dodge it, I know it will catch up with me.  Forgive, forgive, I hear it over and over again, forgive.

Forgiveness is the "rest" of the story.  Forgiveness comes just before The End.  Without it the story is unfinished, incomplete.  Not only is the story not finished but the soul cannot complete its own faith story without it.  There will always be rumblings inside, unsettledness and anger.  Bitterness can easily take root and starve hope, love and peace within us. 

It is difficult to forgive when injustice is rampant, when people are ruined, destroyed by greed, power and hatred.  How do we forgive those who often times intentionally hurt us or those we love? 

Perhaps we need to reexamine what forgiveness is and is not.  Forgiveness is NOT approving of destructive behavior.  Forgiveness is for healing one's own soul.  Giving you every bit of every piece and parcel of pain, sorrow, loss, anger and abuse gives us opportunity to make space for healing, hope, comfort, love and peace.  For you want to fill us with everything that will transform us and make us well.

Relieve us

of all

that pains us,

O God.

Heal us

from the

inside out.

Open our souls

to your

healing work,

I pray.

Love, Andrea

Friday, April 1, 2022

Dear God,

Our ultimate hope is in you, All-Loving and Powerful God.  While we may be able to manufacture hope in the moment, we cannot sustain hope that is small, shallow and fragile.  For hope to endure we must trust in you.

As we look at our world today, people in horrendous situations are declaring hope.  Their trust and faith in you buoy them up as they face great difficulties.  Their hope challenges the rest of us to have hope too. 

Merciful God,

increase our faith

and trust 

in you.

We long

to follow you

and to

hold fast

to the hope

you give us.

Teach us

to be strong

and resilient

during times

of testing.

Bless all

whose hope

gives hope

to all others.

Love, Andrea 

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Dear God,

Thank you for moments of awakening, those times when you wake us from our sleep, from darkness to light, from blindness to seeing and from death to life.   Such holy moments cause us to acknowledge your power and love.

When our vision is cloudy and we can't seem to find our way, you come to us taking the scales from our eyes.  What we initially thought was impossible becomes possible.  When we blink our eyes again and again, we can hardly believe what we are seeing.  But that is your way, O God, you want to help us, surprise us, bless and inspire us and above all to challenge us from disbelief to belief.

May your way

be our way,

O Lord.

May your will

be our will.

May your love

be our love.

Yours, Andrea