Friday, August 29, 2025

Dear God,

At down times, depressing times, confusing times, despairing times, well, really any difficult time, we have a wonderful, built-in resource where we can go to be lifted up.  It is the holy space deep within us where sweet memories reside.  Thoughts, experiences, events, relationships and surprises, our very own, tuck themselves way down deep to remind us we are loved, we are cared for and we are connected to others who have touched, inspired and blessed us.

It can be a short trip to the source of our comfort and hope and strength and courage.  For as long as we desire, we can visit, name names, recall gifts and repeat our expressions of gratitude.  We can drink from holy water, rest in love's peace and restore our weary and worn places.  When ready, we can return to our daily lives knowing we are not alone in our challenging times.  

Holy and Living God,

take us

to our

safe places,

our loving places

and our 

holy places.

Feed us

from your table.

Remind us

who we are

and who

is with us.

Return us renewed,

restored and revitalized,

we pray.

Yours, Andrea

Thursday, August 28, 2025

Dear God,

It was once hidden behind a deep and wide hedge of tall, invasive cow roses.  Littered with car parts, rusty barbed wire, broken glass and plastic, trash and debris, it looked ominous and scary.  However, after five years of hard work, now I can sit in my back room, look out and see a beautiful woods.  When the sun rises its beams stream through the green forest calling me to wonderment, awe and praise.

So often we are put off by ugly scenes.  We choose not to go near them.  We drive right by.  But what if something beautiful is hidden away, begging to be cleaned and cleared?  What if there is treasure waiting to be uncovered?

It is like the human soul.  In this life we can look at people and their behaviors and jump to inaccurate conclusions.  If we want to see more beauty in the world, we need to pause and reconsider what we see.  Maybe even pray to see through your eyes?  What lay hidden to be found?

O God, thank you

for the lesson

of the

ugly woods.

Thanks for 

the call

to clear,

clean and

open up.

Thank you

for the beauty

just outside

my window.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Dear God,

Show us the way, the many ways we can help one another!  When I think about human suffering either from Gaza City, Ukraine, Russia, Sudan and Minnesota, just to name a few, I ask myself what we can do to help one another.  I know we can pray and send donations but how can we ever bring peace to all those who are hurting.  Your answer always seems to be love one another. Love one another as I have loved you.  When we really reflect upon this, we come to realize it means a change of heart, a way of being and an affirmation of life for everyone not just a few.   

While we can reach out across continents or states to help, the deeper and wider way of loving one another means to love the next-door neighbor, the annoying person in the check-in line and the person most unlike our self.  We aren't mandated to love those most lovable but those who are most unlovable.  That is not always easy.  In fact, it can be extremely difficult; yet, because you do it, you invite us to do it too.

Dear God,

we want

to love others

but when

they hurt us,

it is 

almost impossible.

Clear our head,

our hurts

and our pain,

dear One;

lead us

to change

the world

with love.

We are desperate

for a 

new way.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Dear God,

How do we help each other make sense of what doesn't make sense?  How do we find meaning and purpose in a life that hurts so many people?  How can we possibly be content when millions are desperate, hurting and lost?

On the news one day I heard the story of two Catholic nuns being attacked by a nighttime intruder.  I became enraged and cried.  I knew those women very well because I worshipped with them every Wednesday for years.  How could anyone hurt these beautiful, faith-filled women, I asked myself. 

A few days later on Wednesday, I stood in a circle holding hands with one of them who had a bandage wrapped around her head.  She glowed, I mean she positively glowed.  I couldn't figure it out.  I wanted to hurt someone but she, on the other hand, talked about what it was like while he was attacking her.  She was praying for him, his family, his teachers, his neighbors, everyone who had encircled him all his life.  The glow was forgiveness and peace.

The attacker was never found.  He just vanished and was never held accountable.  I wondered what his life was like following the attack because the two nuns prayed aloud when he was attacking.  How did he make sense of them?

Dear God,

in these

difficult times,

please help us

make sense

of everything

that does not

make sense.

Help us see

each other

through your eyes.

Help us

once again

see the beauty

and power

of prayer

and forgiveness.

Love, Andrea

Monday, August 25, 2025

Dear God,

Is it possible to love and hate at the same time?  I love people, all people regardless of religion, tradition and culture, politics and gender and sexual orientation.  I firmly believe if God loves me then by God's own nature, God will have to love everyone else at the same time.  This is my theology.  Anything less is simply not possible!

At the same time, I hate political leaders who separate people out by good or bad, blessed or cursed, real or not real, Republican or Democrat, allowed or not allowed and so on it goes.  Leaders who denounce people by their loyalties or lack of them, the color of their skin or citizen or not rank people by their worthiness to be cared for in our nation or any other.  How can this be so?  How can some be in and others be out?  Isn't every human a valued, beloved person?

While I recognize all people do not function to do good at all times, I recognize I am one of them.  I too am flawed, prejudiced and judgmental but I want to rise to a higher moral, ethical, loving and compassionate person.  I want to rid myself of all that I use to judge other people.  How can I ever eradicate all that is not good in me while getting closer in love with those just like me?

Help me love

as you love,

O God;

help me see

as you see.

Teach us love

once again.

Help us

lift one another

higher and higher

so we

can all 

rise upward together.

Yours, Andrea

Sunday, August 24, 2025

Dear God,

In the morning it always takes a while for me to pray my list of people, nations and issues but I always end my prayer with a special request for all those people and things dearest to your heart.  In those moments I feel truly at one with you and all you love.

Far too often we pray for me and mine but a group of Catholic nuns taught me to pray for the world and its needs at the same time.  What is authentic, grace-filled prayer if I am only praying for my concerns and loved ones?  Prayer is a gesture of love for the cosmos, the great blessing of God.  I must never forget them.  As I concluded my prayer this morning, I smiled as I drank in the gift of your loving presence.

Thank you,

Holy God,

for reminding me

of all

your people,

all not some.

Thank you

for the reminder

and the blessing

it is

to pray 

for others.

Thank you

for connecting us

all together!

Yours, Andrea

 

Saturday, August 23, 2025

Dear God,

Instead of being afraid or resistant of and to other religions, political persuasions and cultures, we can receive them as teachers.  We can learn from one another.  

As I traveled in the world, I have been surprised and blessed to encounter people whose lives are different from my own.  As a Christian, I was moved by the Muslim call to prayer five times a day.  When I heard their call, I prayed to my own God who is mystery to us all.  When I stepped onto a crowded bus in Moscow, an elderly lady stood and insisted I take her seat.  Someone explained that is their way of hospitality.  Now that I am more cognizant of others who are visiting my country, I try to do a gesture of kindness. One day as I was ranting about the president who I simply cannot abide because of his target of vulnerable people, someone on the "other" side suggested I pray for him.  Although it is difficult to say his name, I do pray daily for political leaders, all of them.

I realize I do not have the only word for the way things should be.  My own thoughts, faith, culture, political understanding and practices are limited.  If I rigidly hold them as the only way, then my world view along with others the same as me, will always remain small, prejudiced and unbending. At the end of the day, that is not what I want at all.

O God,

thank you

for sending me

to people,

places, traditions,

cultures and 

ways of being

different from

my own.

Thank you

for sending 

other teachers.

Open me

to the realities

of all

who have something

to contribute

to the world.

Make me pliable

to all

the truths

that set people free.

Yours, Andrea

Friday, August 22, 2025

Dear God,

I got back my old energy.  In my despair I had no energy and felt certain it would never return.  But that was flawed thinking.

We forget there is always a force at work within us.  We believe certain things about our self but sometimes those are not true.  We forget the most important thing that you are with us and within us.  Who else could bring cells together, give them power and call them beloved?

After months of sorrow my energy began returning.  It has been like a miracle, something I could not manufacture on my own.  When I realized what I was able to do after so long a time, I recognized where the thought came from.  I found myself giving thanks to you.

Thank you,

Compassionate God,

for caring

about me.

Thank you

for bringing

the dead

to life.

Thank you

for blessing me

with my

life force.

You are God;

there is none

like you.

Yours, Andrea

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Dear God,

Yesterday was filled with blessings, so many that I fell asleep counting them in all their glory.  My heart was full, my mind was full and my soul was full too.

At the beginning of this year celebrating my decision to live through last year, you and I declared this the year of gratitude.  As I prayed my prayers last night, I whispered my thanks to you.  This morning I am still thinking about it and extending my appreciation to you.

Not every day brings such miracles, answers to prayers, delights, hopes and dreams but every day does give us opportunity to count the gifts in our lives.  One day may be very difficult filled with loss, sorrow and even anger but that day can persuade us to look deeper, much deeper than surface count.  We will always find something that leads us back to you.

Thank you,

dearest God,

for blessing

my life yesterday.

Thank you

for the ways

you are

giving me

to bless others.

I am

thrice blessed.

Yours, Andrea

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Dear God,

It is usually in the early morning and the late afternoon when I get to witness the beauty of the light and darkness together.  When shadows form through the woods, down the street and across the flower garden, I note both the beauty and how the light and darkness are woven together.  I can sit for a long time just watching them, seeing what each offer to the scene in front of me.  

For some reason we often see the light as positive and good and the darkness as negative and not so good.  But what would the light be without the darkness or vice versa.  Each adds something to the other to bring about beauty.  All darkness or all light is nothing more than that but together they are so much more!

When life issues seem to offer more darkness, I look for the light which always appears in one form or another.  Later, when I reflect back, I discover the gifts they brought together. 

O God,

help me see

the gifts

before my eyes.

Help me understand

the darkness

and the 

light better.

Help me

grab hold

of the shadows

and see

the value

in what

they bring.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Dear God,

When we allow worry and fear to infiltrate our minds, bodies and souls, our world diminishes, getting smaller and smaller and smaller until it is so small, we live in a tight, smothering and lonesome place.  Our whole person falls into dysfunction unable to breathe properly, think clearly and move well.

On the other hand, when we allow calm, solitude and peace to penetrate, our world grows larger, more

liberating and free and filled with possibility.  There is much room in which to grow, stretch and even dance.  So much space opens us to new ideas and insights, joy, hope and even laughter.  While our conditions or situations remain the same, we do not because we live in a space where much can happen.  We can take hold of those things that brighten our lives, restore our hope and give us options.  This is the space called holy because it gives light and life.

Amazing God,

thank you

for reminding us

of your

divine space.

Teach us

how to climb

out of

our tiny spaces.

Enlarge our trust,

our beliefs,

and our capacity

for growth,

insight, wisdom,

grace and hope.

Love, Andrea

Monday, August 18, 2025

Dear God,

Everything is changing.  Now when we stand on traditional floors and feel unsteady, it is easy to feel we are losing our bearings.  We become afraid, irritated and even angry.  So where do we turn?

Daily you remind us to turn to you, to those things outside ourselves that offer a daily rhythm.  Every day the sun rises, gentle breezes blow, ocean waves go in and out, trees provide air to breathe and at the designated time the sun sets, the moon rises and stars come out.  This cycle is predictable, steady and comforting.  When we drink in this truth, we can find hope, strength and power.  Although other things threaten to change our way, we can rely on nature to help us.  And who is behind nature and all her grandeur?  God's own self.  We look to nature because nature points us to you.

Thank you,

Unchangeable God,

for the gifts,

the many gifts

of nature.

Thank you

for their beauty,

constancy and love.

Thank you

for tending

to our

weary, anxious souls.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, August 17, 2025

Dear God,

Once I turned off the bedroom fan, all was quiet.  I stood for a few moments to just listen to the silence.  I could hear its message of solitude, beauty, hope, love and joy.

The fan was simply a symbol of all that is busy, noisy and rushing in my mind.  Filled with concern for a family member, the nation and the world, I couldn't hear what my soul was longing for.  I didn't realize that simply turning off a fan could give me a new perspective, a welcome one at that.

Thank you,

O God,

for the blessing

and inspiration

first thing

this morning.

To meet you

at the opening

to my bedroom

brought more

than I expected.

Thank you

for your presence

and your quiet.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, August 16, 2025

Dear God,

Time is passing swiftly.  August is half over.  Next month on my birthday I turn 79. I remember my beloved grandmother at this age.  When did I suddenly become my grandmother's age?

There is a lesson in every-day living.  As I write today, I am reminded never to take time for granted.  Every day is full of gifts, wonderings and inspirations.  Often, I busy myself so much that I miss lesson one and two.  Then the day is over, lost to me because I gave it away with too many things.  I tell myself today will be different.

But right now in this very moment I am pausing, pausing, pausing to take stock in the breath I am breathing, the vision that is all around me, the quiet I can hear and the blessing this moment is.  It will quickly slip by but right now I am taking it all in, not for a moment taking it for granted.

Thank you

for this 

holy moment,

Loving Father.

Thank you

for giving it

to me.

May I

always recognize

each moment

as holy 

and sacred.

Love, Andrea

Friday, August 15, 2025

Dear God,

So many horrible things are happening around our world, so much that need not happen.  Starving people, injustices of all kinds, people being robbed of their homes, livelihood and power.  Authoritarian leaders are doing horrendous things.  I do not understand.  Why, O Lord, why?  It is as if Satan has been given reign over the earth.

How do we help people in trouble?  How do we have and give hope?  How do we find the light and be the light?  How can we make a difference to change lives and help transform situations, conditions and policies?  I want to be a change maker, dear God.  I want to assist in your transformative work.  I want to promote good over evil.  How do we do this?  How do we do this?

You are power.

You are good.

You are mercy.

You are light.

You are hope.

You are love.

How can

we become

all these things,

Compassionate God?

Love, Andrea

Thursday, August 14, 2025

Dear God,

The flowers are growing weary.  Summer scents have a teeny bit of Autumn in them.  My soul is responding with rejoicing.  

This has been a difficult spring and summer for my husband since he broke two vertebrae in his back.  We have spent all summer inside looking out.  We have had great healers who offered physical and occupational therapy.  He is doing better and so am I but I am ready to be outside looking in.  It gives a different perspective, one of hope and joy.

You are God;

there is none

like you.

Thank you,

Great Shepherd,

for caring

for Harold

and me.

We are blessed.

Yours, Andrea

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Dear God,

I get tired of hearing my own voice, my own prejudices, my own thoughts and beliefs and my own opinions.  In the early morning when I gather with authors of my devotional books, they open me to new ideas and thoughts.  They challenge me to rethink my stands on topics.  They inspire and bless me to grow in faith, grace and compassion.  Their voices are like fresh air on a stale, hot, humid day.  I need them so much.

Gifts come to us in many ways.  Often times devotional writers pen from a raw heart and soul sharing from the depths of hurt and victory.  I am always lifted up to higher places because I need truth telling, hope and wisdom.  Sitting with writers, ancient and contemporary, smooth my rough edges, help me with my own kind of sorrow and challenge me to share as well.

O God,

you bless

my heart

in so 

many ways.

Today was

just one

of many.

Thank you

for directing me

to your people

for lessons

in life.

Yours forever, Andrea

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Dear God,

The impossible can only be made possible with you, Almighty God.  We can see no way out, no way to fix something and no way to change things.  Then out of the blue, a tiny door opens shifting the scene making way for something new.

This has happened to me so many times.  When I could only imagine the same old, same old, all along you were whispering hope for something different.  When the change came, I knew that I knew that I knew it was you and only you.

Help us

trust more

and more

in you

and your

blessed way,

O God.

In the quiet

of every 

day living,

you are

at work

opening and closing

doors and windows.

You are

moving things around.

You are

subtlely altering circumstances

to bring about

a new day.

Help us

have strength

and courage

while we wait.

Yours, Andrea

Monday, August 11, 2025

Dear God,

It is so easy to throw stones at others and not so easy to see my own planks, imperfections, judgementalism and more!  This insight came to me a couple days ago.

I realize there are a number of words that trigger my emotions negatively.  When I read Facebook I see the countless number of times people use words that cause hurt, anger, fear, pain and rage.  What a change it would be if we looked at the names used to describe people and changed those words to simply people.  What a difference it could make.

People are people.  Republicans are people.  Illegals are people.  Trans people are people.  Progressives are people.  We are all people, loved and beloved.  No one is higher or better than another.  No one is lower.  When we want to make a point, we call people by a name to get some kind of reaction.  If we called them by Jesus' name for them, we would know them as he knows them.  Loved and beloved.

Holy God,

teach us again

your will

and your way.

We forget

our way

when we begin

to call others

by derogatory names.

We forget

we are talking

about your own.

Forgive us,

I pray.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Dear God,

Hazrat Inayat Khan said, "God breaks the heart again and again and again until it stays open."  Is it true, I ask myself when I think of my own life, is it true?

I believe I know how to break my own human heart.  I do, say, believe things that cause my heart to bleed.  While the first arrow may be one not of my own making, the second, third and fourth often are.  I pain myself.  Why, I ask?  I don't really know.  I do, however, know the pain of arrows penetrating my heart, mind and soul.

After enough piercings and many pleading prayers, I finally discover the mender of such hurt, one whose voice soothes, calms and challenges me to the next chapter and the open door to the outside.  This morning as I contemplatively read my devotions, I wander around with you reflecting.  

Holy God,

you are

both inside

and out.

You reside

wherever we are.

How grateful

I am

to never

be alone.

Thank you

for your presence

particularly this morning.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, August 9, 2025

Dearest God,

Although I have been far away from my writing to you, I have been breathing your air as I face many challenges.  My longing for you never changes.

As I flew home for some respite care, I called several monasteries and retreat centers to find a space for four or five days while I rested and recuperated.  I finally received a call from one and as I talked with the director, another call came through at the same time.  When I arrived in the back woods of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky, I found myself deep in your creation.  As each day unfolded, I could breathe a little easier and feel more rested.  As I packed up to leave, it was only as I closed the door the last time that I noticed the name of the cabin:  HOPE.  I smiled realizing that was what I was looking for.

After I returned home, I looked at my hundreds of emails.  I opened one from the other retreat center who called through when I talked with The Close Retreat Center.  The director there had offered me a cabin that I could have had.  I wrote back to tell them I was sorry I had not gotten back to them earlier.  Tears came to my eyes when I realized the cabin they had offered to me was also called HOPE.

Dear God,

you know what

we need

when we

need it.

You come

so close.

You breathe

upon us

giving us

your breath.

Thank you,

Holy Father,

for the gift

of hope,

your special gift.

Love, Andrea