Saturday, October 25, 2025

Dear God,

It seems today is the day for remembering.  I just wrote you about the people you brought into my life of seventy-nine years.  I am also thinking of all those who shared their faith with me.  Ministers, Sunday School teachers, devotional writers, retreat leaders, monastic sisters, so many whose love for you and their witness of faith inspired and blessed me.  Even now as I sit with Henri Nouwen, Joyce Rupp, Richard Rohr, the psalmist, my cousin Marti and so many others, I realize how my own faith has been shaped by these faith-filled people.

From the beginning when I was barely a tiny ball in my mother's womb, did you think of me, what it would take to fashion me in life?  Did you call me by name way back then?  Did you think of all the faithful you wanted me to meet along life's way?  Did you put them in my path?  How did I turn out?  Am I who you created me to be?  Have I pleased or disappointed you?

As I consider all whose faith impacted my own, I give thanks not only to them but to you, Loving God, to you.

You are God;

there is none

like you.

I thank you

for every gift,

every blessing,

every tiny bit

of faith

you passed on

to me

through others.

Thank you

for caring

that much.

Yours, Andrea

Friday, October 24, 2025

Dear God,

Sitting in my mother's chair in my study right now, I am reflecting upon those people who have played important roles in my life.  As far back as I can remember and for stories told me later on, I wonder why all these people took it upon themselves to love me in some way or another.  There were so many family members, aunts, my grandmother, my teachers, my neighbors, friends, so many and too many to name.  For some reason they touched my life giving me some gift that still has power decades later.

Nonie was my uncle's mother-in-law.  We lived in the same town for about ten years and then my family moved but Nonie was still present in my life even years later.  When I think of her, I feel warm and loved inside.  I remember how she bought jewelry and potholders I made when I was 11 years old because I wanted to fly to Florida to spend time with a cousin and my grandparents.  My parents told me I would have to earn the money if I wanted to go.  It took a year of working and saving but I am guessing that Nonie probably bought half of my inventory.  Even though she died more than 20 years ago, she lives inside me.

You had a hand in bringing special people in my life, O God.  You tucked them into my heart so their kindness and love still touches me today.  I am deeply grateful to them and to you.

Thank you,

Gracious God,

for your 

love revealed.

When I forget

I am loved,

all I

have to do

is think

about the people

you brought

into my life.

Today as

I remember,

I think

of you first.

Yours, Andrea

 

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Dear God,

This morning as I scrolled down Facebook looking for birthday announcements, family pictures or precious memories, I found myself singing along with gospel singers remembering old hymns and gospel songs.  Joining my voice with theirs, I remembered my grandmother who taught me many of those old songs.  Even as a small child, I would stand beside her, as she played her old upright piano.  Now vastly out-of-tune and sitting in my living room, I still remember her playing songs by ear.  No music sheets or hymnals, she simply played what she knew by heart.

This morning I was touched to be singing not only with the famous gospel singers but with Grandma Hughes.  I recalled her faith, her love, her beautiful smile and her well-worn hands made by loving gestures done for others.  Although I was alone in my kitchen where I was canning homemade jams to sell for missions, my kitchen was full of music, my precious grandmother and love lasting a lifetime.

Thank you

for holy moments

that fill me

with great joy.

Thank you

for old hymns

and gospel music.

Thank you mostly

for Grandma

and every gift

she gave me.

Yours, Andrea

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Dear God,

Your way is far superior to our own!  We may find happiness and delight in our own way but your way brings divine joy and glorious inspiration.  It is like stepping into paradise and walking on clouds.  We see, hear and feel something out-of-this world.  It is a sacred knowing that we are touching something far greater than our self.  It is the divine-human connection.  

So many times in my seventy-nine years, I have had these amazing experiences especially events and happenings that I could not have orchestrated myself, when something swept over me, a peace so deep and wide that I knew I was inside your living, loving presence.  Because I have nothing to compare it to, I just knew that I felt so much inner and outer joy, yet without words to describe it.  Only you, yes you, Loving God, could bless and inspire that way!

Thank you,

Gracious God,

for the

holy, beautiful moments

of grace,

hope, love

and peace.

Thank you

for stepping

beyond my way

so your way

could be revealed.

My heart

is so full

of love

for you.

Yours, Andrea

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Dear God,

Ever since Autumn temperatures started dropping, I have breathed lighter air.  How can that be?  Has anything changed?  Yes, it has.  Autumn always brings me joy because, for me, it is bringing me closer to winter, my favorite season.  But that does not mean I miss one glorious Autumn day.  I breathe her air, listen to her message and sing to her branches, bushes and flowers.  I sing with them, listen to their whispers and take deep breaths cleansing my inner soul.

How can this happen?  I believe this was your intent at the moment of creation.  I believe you created the seasons for humans to see, hear, taste, touch and smell.  I believe you knew creation's best in the seasons could give us lessons for life.  If we miss the seasons, we miss the lessons.

Thank you,

Creator God,

for the gift

of Autumn.

Thank you

for her

subtle messages.

Thank you too

for her song.

Love, Andrea

Monday, October 20. 2025

Dear God,

The words popped off the page as I listened to the psalmist.  "You, Lord, keep my lamp burning."  My heart was lifted, my mind quieted and my spirit took refuge.  What he said I have found true in my own life.  No one can keep my lamp lighted and burning like you. 

How many times have I taken a turn toward the darkness?  Too many to name.  Every single time I felt and heard a spark relight my candle.  Who burned it out?  I ask myself.  While I may not always know who blew out my candle, I always know who relit it.

Keep my 

lamp burning,

O God,

for my light

is the fire

of your spirit.

Without your help,

my light flickers

and goes out.

More than anything

I want

to keep 

my lamp burning

for others

in darkness.

May it be so,

dear God.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Dear God,

Changing seasons challenge us to pause, reflect and consider our daily lives.  What are we doing?  Why are we doing it?  What do we hope to accomplish?  It causes us to contemplate our lives so directed by work, goals and production.

Autumn persuades us to think about giving away instead of accumulating.  It makes us wonder why accumulating is so important to us.  Like the biblical man who wanted to build bigger barns for his ever-growing abundance, this season whispers to us to release and let go.  The reward of the Autumn challenge is peace, quiet joy and great delight.

We desperately need this season.  We need to listen and watch, following the course of surrender.  Spring will soon enough call us to something else, to sing a different song.  But for now, quiet peace in letting go is nice.

Holy God,

you are always

whispering to us

the messages 

and the lessons

of each season.

Help us

not miss

the call

and the challenge.

Dwell within us

so you

can fill

our empty spaces

with your peace.

Love, Andrea

Saturday October 18, 2025

Dear God,

This fall afternoon as I drove the country roads to my daughter's home, I heard myself saying aloud, "I love fallow fields.  I love fallow fields."   I love fallow fields.  What made me say that?

It was strange to hear my own words but suddenly I knew what was happening.  The fallow fields, one after the other, I felt myself take a deep breath.  It was as if the fields were calling me to quiet, to listen, to breathe, to slow down and to rest.  The psalmist said that you lead us to green pastures where you restore souls.  I think the 25-minute drive was inviting me to the pasture to restore my soul.

In the spring and summer months the fields are busy breaking through the winter crust, reaching upward to the warm sun and refreshing rain, growing, filling out and dancing in the wind.  When Autumn comes it all changes.  They give up their busyness, crops and full life.  They begin to surrender, to let go, to shift and to rest.  Their barrenness gives us a different message than before.  They challenge us to join them to rest from our labors in this special season.

I smiled on that drive and the return trip home.  I said yes to the invitation.  I want to join this season of surrender, trust and peace.

Thank you,

Compassionate God,

for the call

to release,

let go

and surrender.

Thank you

for the peace

that follows.

Thank you

for fallow fields

and their

Autumn message.

Yours, Andrea

Friday, October 17, 2025

Dear God,

I so well remember the words of scripture that say, "The people walked in darkness."  The people walked in darkness sounds like today's world.  People are walking in darkness.  People choose darkness over the light.  In darkness we can be evil, mean, corrupt, uncaring and do all kinds of bad things. Why, dear God, why?

We all fall into darkness.  We choose darkness when we can't find our way to the light.  Yet, when I step back and reflect, I believe everyone wants the light over the darkness.  Everyone wants a life of light.  We are all hungry for light that nourishes, renews, restores, revitalizes, guides, blesses, inspires and so on.  The light does all these things over and over again.

Whenever we gain an insight, feel calm peace, experience our burden lifted, feel loved or see something we did not see before, these are all examples of light shining in the darkness.  There is a shift, a movement toward hope, goodness and well-being.  They can happen in an instant or over time; either way, they are light breaking into the blackness that keeps us blind, deaf and helpless.  When we walk in darkness, by faith we can anticipate those moments where light breaks in.  We can take hold and follow that light which always leads us to you.

Holy God,

help us

walk in

the way

that leads

to the light.

Forgive us

when we cling

to the darkness.

Truly, we want

the light.

We want 

the one

who called himself

the Light of the World.

Yours, Andrea

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Dear God,

How can we heal our broken hearts when we live an ongoing life of loss, sorrow and grief?  Yesterday I spoke with dear friends whose daughter and grandchildren are estranged from them.  My friends are and have been willing to do anything to rebuild a life together.  And yet, their daughter will not come near.  Neither will she let them see their grandchildren.

There is a trend of estrangement in America.  Friends, neighbors, co-workers, family members all comprise a group of people estranged from one another.  Sometimes there are appropriate reasons for estrangement, other times not.  Why do we walk away and stay away?

We do that with you too, dear God.  We walk away from you because we are resentful because you did not answer our prayer.  You did not heal our loved one.  You did not give us the job.  You did not save our relationship.  There are a thousand reasons why we stop connecting with people.

When I find myself in this kind of relationship, I run to the one relationship that never ends.  I run to you, Merciful God, because in you I find comfort, unconditional love and guidance.  I lean on you.  Sometimes like a child, I rise to your lap where I can feel your wondrous arms around me helping keep me steady and sane.  I cry out my heart to you and for some reason I feel a bit better.  I climb down and go back to my life always knowing the path that will return me to you.

Thank you,

for your compassion

and kindness

when we

are adrift,

alone and sad.

Thank you

for welcoming us home.

Thank you

for caring

for us

like no other.

Yours, Andrea

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Dear God,

Every day I think of the world, not just my nation.  I think of people far, far away.  I think of their families, their way of life, their culture, tradition and their joy.  But I also think of their fear, anxiety and worry.  I pray for them as much as I pray for my own.

Although there are many down sides to the cyber age, I like knowing what is happening to people in other countries.  When disaster strikes, I feel their concerns and I pray for them.  When the leadership of our nation does deliberate things to hurt other nations, I pray harder.

I have always believed we are one really big family on this planet.  I believe we are to consider all people, every nation, our sisters and brothers.  When families hurt in other places, we need to feel the pinch ourselves because this reminds us how close we are, how fragile we are and how much we need one another.  When our president touts our number one status in the world, I want to vomit.  I want to scream.  I want to speak out telling the truth that no one is number one, not one is greater than the other.

Particularly this year following our president's reelection, I have felt the tender hands of nations reaching out to us, their voices letting us know they care about us and their feet standing up for us with messages of love, challenge and inspiration.  Once again I have been strengthened by strangers near and far with compassion and kindness.  My heart overflows with gratitude.

Bless those near

and far,

O God.

Remind us daily

we are part

and parcel

of one another.

May we grow

closer and closer

together in love,

friendship and hospitality.

Yours always, Andrea

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Dear God,

Autumn is harvest time.  All that was planted in the spring are feeling the effects of cooler weather, shorter days and darker nights.  Their time as colorful, productive plants is coming to an end.  Their work is to let go, lie down and transform itself.  The next season is perhaps the most important task of all...making rich soil for the next generation.

My grandmother felt sad in the fall.  All the beauty of spring and summer on the farm, fruits, vegetables and flowers began to wither and go silent.  No more dancing in the wind.  It was hard for her to let go.  But for some reason this season is inspiring and meaningful for me.  I love the idea of letting silence have a holy time in the fields and gardens but also in my soul.

Summer gives us opportunity to enjoy.  Everything from the garden tastes delicious.  Everything we see growing gives us great delight.  Warm weather allows us to play, sit among the flowers and feel the warmth of the sun.

But Autumn, she shows us her true colors, something she has waited for all summer long.  She turns color, truly dances in the wind and if we listen closely we can almost hear her sing.  She likes the change in weather because it is her cue to shine.  The chance to be quiet, to listen, to breathe more deeply, to watch for cues and take quiet walks invites us to shine as well.  

Holy God,

thank you

for all

spring and summer

have given us.

Thank you too

for the beauty

that is

now showing.

Thank you

for the invitation

to meet you

in a 

new way.

Yours, Andrea

Monday, October 13, 2025

Dear God,

This morning what a spectacular view I witnessed as first light appeared on the horizon just outside my study windows!  The tree colors of, red, orange, yellow, gold and green just popped as I gazed upon creation.  I am not sure I have ever seen them quite like that in an Autumn sunrise.

What a beautiful gift it is to witness divine surprises around us.  It may be only a moment or a minute but the beauty is so majestic and awe-inspiring that all I want to do is just breathe it in and murmur my prayers of thanksgiving.  In days of darkness, we have to be especially attentive to discover the gift awaiting to be viewed and experienced.  Our darkness becomes light and we can find great meaning to carry all day long.

Thank you,

Wondrous God,

for this morning.

Thank you

for this

beautiful Autumn day.

Thank you

for catching

my attention

so we

could witness 

creation together.

Yours, Andrea

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Dear God,

This morning I am expressing my full heart of thanksgiving for living friends who continue to inspire, challenge, comfort, warm and bless me!  People like St. Francis of Assisi, Maya Angelo, St. Teresa of Lisieux, Corrie Ten Boom, Henri Nouwen, St. Teresa of Avila and my own grandmother Lois Hughes, to name a few, continue to travel with me daily.  Although it seems they only lived a short time, passing through life so quickly, they touched and loved so much that the rays of their light still reach out and live to bless.

How can it be so?  I never met any of these except Grandma Hughes; yet, their lives, their faith and their witness reach through the decades and even centuries to touch human lives, even mine.  When I read their words, prayers, reflections, meditations and questions, I step into their presence and tarry there a while.  During that mystical time, I am strengthened, mobilized and challenged.  My faith grows, my confession bubbles up and my resolve spreads. 

When I pause to consider all I have been given, I quite naturally erupt into praise.  When life is tough, when troubles come or when I feel despair wanting to creep inside me, I turn to these praiseworthy pilgrims of faith and once again I live on absorbing and giving away the blessings that comes to me and then are passed on.

Thank you,

Blessed God,

for the

countless number

of gifts

I have received.

Thank you

for blessing

my life

with faith.

You are God;

there is

no one

I would rather serve.

Yours, Andrea

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Dear God,

When we are bent on walking our own life journey without regard to or for others, we can have a hard time finding our way home.  We will miss scenes and experiences than can give us rich opportunities.  Blinders will always limit where we walk and the discoveries we can make.

Humans are so guilty of planning and traveling our own path.  On a road toward success, wealth and recognition we will find cheap substitutes, tarnished rewards and false hopes.  On the other hand, a life with you listening for cues and clues to an amazing journey of faith, wonderment and divine sights and insights including wisdom will lead us wildly beyond our own imagination.  We will always find our way home.  Always trusting in you, Gracious God, will give us more than we ever hoped for. 

Ever-Loving Creator,

lead us

to you

every time.

Open our eyes

to faith

that will widen

our scope

and draw us

into a

beautiful, amazing life.

And then always

keep praise

and thanksgiving

on our lips,

we pray.

Yours, Andrea

Friday, October 10, 2025

Dear God,

In my family there was always an expectation of conformity.  Men do this.  Women do that.  As long as we stayed in the box assigned to us, we were okay.  If not, there were consequences.

I didn't realize that growing up because I was so much in the box that I didn't know there was something outside it.  What I found in high school were friends whose boxes were different than mine.  I began to feel discombobulated.  While I was accepted at home for my box behavior, I didn't feel I quite fit with my growing-up friends.  

After moving to California in a time of real upset in the 1960's, I was totally lost.  Nothing was the same.  I was a senior in a high school four times the size of my hometown.  I had no friends and no prospects. I was lonely and afraid.  I jumped at the chance to get married to a man who loved me but was filled with pain and sorrow from an abusive childhood.  At some point we were destined to fail.  After three children we divorced.

It was during this period, O God, that my vulnerability led me into new places. I started college, a first in my family. I lived on the poverty line to support my children and to go to the university and seminary. I got breast cancer. And so on. I could have continued to conform but instead I paid greatly for decisions to shatter my box and to never allow creation of another one. 

I learned that you are not the god who challenges us to conform. You open us to new opportunities. While the president of our nation calls for our conformity to follow his evil policies and programs or else, we have to listen to another voice higher and greater than his in order to make space for healing, hope and a bright future not only for our nation but also for our world because they too are part of our human family. 

Help us hear 

your voice 

above all others, 

Merciful God.  

Make your voice 

louder than

all the rest.  

Lead us to 

high places 

where love 

has a chance, 

hope can 

rise up 

and healing 

can save us.  

Love, Andrea

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Dear God,

Autumn always has so much to say to us.  It reminds us of our mortality and our need for surrender.  Like the trees that let go of their leaves, we too are challenged to let go as well.  We may have to surrender a friend or family member to death.  Perhaps it will be a relationship or a job or health.  Life is not static; it calls us to release, let go, surrender.

I have not always liked Autumn because it makes me sad.  At times I have wanted to pick up the beautiful, dying, colorful leaves and taped them back onto tree limbs.  I have wanted to give them a new life instead of a shriveling one.  But even that exercise will be fruitless.  Those leaves will die anyway because it is what they do in their own life cycle.  They let go of their source of life.  They drift into the wind and eventually fall to the ground.

We are like that too.  One day we shall do the same and it will be okay because surrender is what life is about.

Holy God,

please help us

let go.

Give us

the power

of surrender,

the power

to fulfill

our own

life cycle.

Help us remember

that although

we die,

we live,

we live 

with you.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Dear God,

I love to wake up early in the morning to see the moon making its arc across the sky.  When I crawl into bed at night, the moon is high in the sky just to my left.  Then when I rise up, I watch as it begins to move to my right until it gets lost in the trees and dips below the horizon.

Every day there are miracle happenings not only in the sky but all around us.  When tree colors change from green to red, yellow or gold, I remember the power of creation, divine creation.  I love the fact that no two sunrises or sunsets are the same.  There is always something fresh and new.  At times it is though the paint is still fresh on the canvas and I am in awe.

In the quiet, black night skies, I can watch the twinkle of magnificent snow-white stars and then watch them fade, making space for that glorious ball of fire that will light the skies making all things visible to the naked eye.  Every morning I witness one miracle after another and all I can whisper is "Glory, glory, glory to you, Loving God, glory to you!"

Sometimes we pray

for a miracle,

O God,

and we fail

to see 

one unfolding.

Forgive us

when we

do not

pay attention.

Draw us

into you

more and more,

Gracious God.

Help us see

the new day dawning.

Yours, Andrea

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Dear God,

I couldn't help but be hopeful when I read the words of Isaiah, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  I was hooked the minute I read these words this morning.  I felt hope budding up within me.

There have been numerous times when my faith dipped and my hope stumbled.  Things looked impossible.  I walked in darkness.  But then seemingly out of nowhere, I began to see the light shining in the darkness, first a crack here and later a small window opening. I knew then and I know now you were doing a new thing all over again.

As humans we give up hope deeming a situation impossible to change.  When we can't see our way around things we fall into our own gloom and doom.  While we may give up, you do not.  You continue to work offering mercy, light and hope.  And if we give you even the smallest chance of transformation, things can shift and the impossible may just lead us to something new.  That's why right now I can stand with Isaiah and say myself, "See God is doing a new thing.  He is doing it in me!"

Thank you

for living hope,

Amazing God.

Thank you

for your

steadfast attention

to our dilemma.

Thank you

for ways

in our wilderness

and streams

in our wasteland.

Yours now and forever, Andrea

     

Monday, October 6, 2025

Dear God,

I just watched a beautiful video with music about trees.  Tim and Elizabeth Janis took us on a walk through Autumn in the Rocky Mountains.  I stopped what I was doing and watched it, listening and immersing myself in the wonders of creation.

"Trees help us breathe," Elizabeth said.  Trees help us breathe, I thought to myself so I looked out the window and expressed gratitude to the trees just outside my study window.  When I feel anxious, afraid or angry I have to remind myself to breathe.  Now, all I need to do is lay eyes on a tree and I will know I am not trying to breathe alone.  The amazing trees just feet away are helping me!

Lord God,

thank you

for every surprise

that comes

our way.

You have designed

the trees

to give us breath.

And not

just breath,

but divine breath,

the air

from yourself.

Thank you,

Loving God.

Yours, Andrea

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Dear God,

No one heals like you, O God, no one.  I wasn't sure my 89-year-old husband could be healed when he fractured vertebrae in his back.  I wasn't sure he could stand, sit or walk without pain.  I wasn't sure he could find the will to get better.  Yet, he has.

I am convinced that healing hope comes from you.  No, we are not always healed from everything that hurts us.  Sometimes we die but in between you come to us with healing hope that can turn our despair into something else, our brokenness into wholeness and our lostness into discovery.

You never fail.  We may not see or hear or trust you to do the big things in life which causes us not to believe but you are with us with healing hope no matter how our situation turns out.  I have witnessed it happening so many times as a pastor, as a sinner and lost soul myself and as a woman beaten down as a second-class citizen.  When we come to recognize the divine power that heals, we meet the Healer.

Hold our hand,

O God,

until we

can feel it.

Lead us always

to the place

where you

await us.

Open our eyes,

minds and spirits

to your

healing hope,

we pray.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Dear God,

Today when I hear and see things being said about Jesus, I have to ask myself once again, "Who is Jesus?"  Although I am a Christian and a retired pastor, oftentimes, I do not know the man about which some people talk.  A white bully carrying an American flag shouting obscenities is not the Jesus I know.  I don't like that Jesus.  If Jesus is a sidekick rather than a merciful comforter and wise teacher, I do not want to walk with this Jesus.  I don't claim him as my shepherd, savior and friend.

Jesus can't be a made-up, mean-spirited big guy that simply portrays who I make him to be.  Although different in some ways, this Jesus is no more effective than the bronze idol the Hebrews fashioned in the desert.  There is nothing I see in this Jesus that is like the one I read about and have met on many occasions.

Jesus must be more, not less than who and what I see in America today.  He must be greater and larger than me or anyone else.  He must be the resurrected lover of the soul of every person who calls the shots rather than those who try to.  He must be the one who holds the lost lamb, helps the woman find her only coin, opens eyes of the arrogant blind, lifts up the wounded, lost and hurting and whispers, "I am the way, the truth and the life; I am the light of the world; I am the good shepherd.  This is the Jesus I remember.

We so easily

lose our way,

dear God.

We forget

we are

to serve you

and not

the other 

way around.

Forgive us;

forgive us;

forgive us,

we pray.

Love, Andrea

Friday, October 3, 2025

Dear God,

Peace comes by being peaceful.  If I hold others responsible to bring me peace while I am in chaos, peace may never come.   I will miss it altogether.

In our society we try to make others responsible to provide for us.  If so and so does this, then I will discover the peace I long for.  If I am constantly in chaos, will I really recognize peace when it comes?  Will I be ready to receive it?  And perhaps more importantly, if I work to have peace in my life, will I share it with others?

You are

our peace,

dear God.

When we dwell

with you,

peace is present.

We do 

not have

to beg

for it

because it

will already

be with us.

Thank you

for daily reminders

that peace

is already here.

Yours, Andrea

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Dear God,

We all get to decide what we will place in our hearts.  From all of earth's resources, we can elect whatever we want but what do we want?  If we feel we are victims of injustice, we may choose protection allowing us to keep our hearts safe from harm.  If we are anxious for what may happen today, we may choose fear.  If we are angry at life, we may choose barriers in order to keep certain people, places or things out.  But is that what we really want?

I confess I often try to direct my heart toward what I want.  I want peace and harmony.  I want love and endearment.  I want compassion and mercy.  However, sometimes I must allow whatever comes along to step inside my heart for a visit.  I must be open not closed to the other because in all these things, it may mean the other will bring me you in a disguise.  By keeping out others, I may miss the ones you want to bring me.  Perhaps they will bring a lesson, a message or a challenge that I need.  I may miss you.

Holy Father,

please open

my heart

to you.

Stretch my heart

to include all

you want

to bring

to me.

Help me

be ready

to welcome

whoever and whatever

may come.

Yours, Andrea

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Dear God,

This morning as we began our trek to Indiana leaving behind a home that had offering healing, hope and blessing, we gave thanks for all the gifts given these last six months.  Men and women, nurses and therapists, friends, neighbors and family members stepped inside and left within prayers, love, mercy, kindness and compassion, gifts of all kinds.  How can we possibly calculate the value we received?

And if that wasn't enough, as we drove along, we gazed at Earth's Autumn beauty, her colors, her dance and her magnificent glory.  Gift after gift after gift, I realized it all drew us back to you.  

Thank you,

Blessed God,

for daily gifts.

Thank you

for memory

that tucks itself

inside us.

Thank you

for always

drawing us

to you.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Dear God,

What does it mean to pray?  I mean really, what does it mean? 

After reading Henri Nouwen and Richard Rohr this morning, I remembered prayer is an affirmation of life in the divine, not with, but in.  With is to suggest at times we are apart from one another.  In means we are inside the divine.  Why would I want to be with when I can be inside?

To dwell in the divine is to join the silence, the sacred silence, the beauty, sacred beauty, the love, the divine love, swimming in mercy and rising up in joy and praise.  It is recognizing prayer is more than muttering a few words even with intensity and sincerity.  It is acknowledging that I am part of you, not outside you, beside you, beneath you but inside you.  I am intrinsically connected to you and to all that is part of you.

In you, O God, dwells eternity, the cosmos, agape love, a deep, abiding living presence that embraces and holds, helps, guides, lifts up and surrounds.  When we even think of prayer we are acknowledging our part in you, your hope, your love, your mission and your grace.  When we drop our heads in sorrow, despair, anxiety, worry or fear, in prayer, we are slipping inside your merciful grace that heals, reconciles and assists us in living a life of faith and hope.  

And so I pray in you, Compassionate God, for the nation and the world, for all people recognizing and affirming they too live and dwell in you as beloved.

Holy, holy, holy

are you,

God of all people,

thank you

for reminding us

we are yours.

We do

not live alone

or apart

from you.

We do

not have

to be afraid,

haunted or tortured

by thoughts

too difficult

to deal with

because we

live inside

the Loving and Living God.

Thank you.

Yours, Andrea

Monday, September 29, 2025

Dear God,

Yesterday I learned a lesson from my old, solid, hardwood floor.  I really learned two lessons.  The second lesson came as I found a half-alive bug in the corner.  As I washed the floor, I must have turned him over because he was on his back, kicking his feet in the air trying to turn himself back over.  He couldn't do it without help.

I've been right where that bug was.  I too have been on my back kicking helplessly in the air without the ability to right myself up.  What an awful feeling.  Sometimes I have failed to ask for assistance so I just kept on kicking uselessly.  It was only when I cried out that I found the hand that helped me up from my down position.

You are

our help,

O God.

No one

is as close

as you.

One cry

from us

and you

are with us.

Help us remember

the importance

of crying out

to you.

Thank you

for every time

you have

righted us

giving us

a new start.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Dear God,

Yesterday I learned a lesson while I sat on my butt polishing the floor.  Because my husband needed 24-hour care due to fractured vertebrae in his back since April, I never had time or energy to clean and polish  floors.  Because we live in a 200-year-old home, the old wooden floors were so dry that I could hear them soaking up the wax.  As I moved back and forth, I realized how desperate the floors were.  In fact, they were nearly to the point of splintering.  That's when I learned the lesson.

When we don't tend to the most essential of our emotional, psychological and spiritual needs, we are moved to a place where we too can crack and splinter off.  We too are in peril, dry and lifeless.  Yet, when we recognize our need and open ourselves to the life-giving oil of faith, we can sigh aloud drinking in the good stuff that restores and renews us.  We are as needy as those dry floors.

Thank you

for the oil

of faith,

O God.

Thank you

for lessons

we can learn

from the floor.

Teach us

to be attentive

to lessons unfolding

all around us.

Show us

the way

to you.

Love, Andrea