Deep Roots

If the roots are deep and strong, the tree needn't worry about the wind.

Blessed is the person who trust in the Lord...

God will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought and never failst to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Horticulturists tell us that letting the ground dry out throughly before watering deeply helps root growth and that light winds will strengthen the trunks of young saplings, the trees' root sink deep into the earth.

Years later, the trees will be huge, sturdy testaments to horticultural wisdom. They will be able to withstand harsh winds and water deprivation, because those little adversities will have made the trees strong enough to do so.

A life whose lttle problems have caused it to grow deep roots of faith in God is like a tree that stands strong, despite the storms that beat against it. It may bend and sway when pounded by the elements, but it only gorws deeper roots and a sturdier trunk as a result.

Little troubles send your faith deep-so you grow able to survive the big ones.

~The pocket devotional for Women

Honor Books 2002

Joy and Sorrow

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work, and you don’t give up.” Anne Lamott

“The most helpful discovery of today has been that right in the midst of my sorrows there is always room for joy. Joy and sorrow are sisters; they live in the same house.” Macrina Wiederkehr

Today pause and look at the history of your inner seasons. Is it possible for you to accept the difficult seasons along with the joyful, ones, to see each as an essential part of your spiritual growth.

Breathprayer:

Breathing in: Joy and sorrow...

Breathing out:....living together

Scripture: John 12:20-26

“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12:24)

Journal:

Joy and sorrow together have taught me....

Prayer:

God help me accept both the joy and the sorrow in my life, help me know how they both strengthen and complete me.

Love pours out

but the broken cup cannot receive

too pained

too discouraged

too shamed

too broken hearted

too burned out

too lonely

too disenchanted

Love waits to strengthen

Love waits to nourish

Love waits to be received

Love waits to heal

in time the cup will be mended

in time the cup will be raised

in time the cup will receive again

in time

in time

- Joyce Rupp

ST. PATRICK'S DAY

The following is the Patrick Compline from "Celtic Daily Prayer"

Take some time to remember this saint who risked his life for the church.

In the name of the King of life;

In the  name of the Christ of love;

In the name of the Holy Spirit:

The Triune of my strength.

I love you, O lord my strength.

The Lord is my rock,

My fortress and my deliverer.

My God is m rock

In whom I take refuge.

I will praise the Lord who counsels me; 

Even at night my heart instructs me.

I have se the Lord always before me.

Because He is at my right hand,

I shall not be shaken.

Into your hands I commit my spirit;

Redeem me, O Lord, the God of Truth.

The God of life with guarding hold you;

The loving Christ with guarding fold you;

The Holy Spirit, guarding, mould you;

Each night of life to aid, enfold you;

Each day and night of life uphold you.

May God shield me; may God fill me; 

May God keep me;

May God watch me;

may God bring me this night

To the nearness of His love.

The peace of the Father of joy,

The peace of the Christ of hope,

The peace of the Spirit of grace,

The peace of all peace

Be mine this night

in the Name of the Father,

And of the Son,

And of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Happy St. Patrick's Day,

Lori Megley-Best

The Open Cup

This lent we at Squamish United are journeying together using the image of "The Cup of Blessing" I have taken several reflection pieces from Joyce Rupp's book "The Cup of Our Life." This is a lenten poem from that book.

Generous God

so many times I've come

with my empty cup

a beggar of the heart

devoid of nourishment

depleted of energy

and you have filled

Generous God

so many times I've come

afraid of unknowns

full of negatives and no's

fighting the challenges

closed and resistant to growth

and you have opened

Generous God

so many times I've come

a stranger to my spirit

crammed with cultural noise

caught in endless clutter

crowding my inner space

and you have emptied

Generous God

I come to you again

holding out my waiting cup

begin that it first be emptied

of all that blocks the way

then asking for its filling

with love that tastes like you.

-Joyce Rupp

On Pilgrimage

How often have we, you and I, mistaken our present place to be our true home? Forgetting we are on a pilgrimage.

On Pilgrimage

May the smell of thyme and lavender accompany us on our journey
To a province that does not know how lucky it is
For it was, among all the hidden corners of the earth,
The only one chosen and visited.

We tended toward the Place but no signs led there.
Till it revealed itself in a pastoral valley
Between mountains that look older than memory,
By a narrow river humming at the grotto.

May the taste of wine and roast meat stay with us
As it did when we used to feast in the clearings,
Searching, not finding, gathering rumors,
Always comforted by the brightness of the day.

May the gentle mountains and the bells of the flocks
Remind us of everything we have lost,
For we have seen on our way and fallen in love
With the world that will pass in a twinkling.

~ Czeslaw Milosz

Slow Down and Catch Up

The other day I was walking fast up a steep incline to get to a meeting.  I was a bit behind, the parking was not close, and I knew I was late!  As I walked my breathing grew loud and I thought how my lungs and heart were working to keep me going - and my legs were slowing down to let me catch up. 

I was forced to slow down to catch up.  Does that make sense?  Don’t we have to speed up to catch up?   We speak about slowing down to let others catch up with us.  But as I grow older (as I grow more out of shape) I realize I have to slow down some parts of myself to let other parts catch up. 

Ancient wisdom tells us “Be still and know that I Am God.”  And my spirit continues this wisdom with... “I Am as near to you as the breath that renews you.”   I suspect my spirit may always know this, but my head gets so busy feeling responsible! 

No matter what is on your plate today - what tasks are before you - stop now for long enough to breathe in deeply and be filled.  Now breathe again - and hold that breath - feel it moving through your body - spreading out even to your fingers and toes.  Breathe out and in again.  Hold your breath - cradle it and let it cradle you.  Breathe out again.  Of course you will continue this simple action through all that fills your day.  In the midst of your busy-ness, be assured that I Am is with you, inviting you to slow down and catch up. 

Blessings,

Sharon Copeman

Loving Kindness Prayer

Here is a prayer for your Lenten practice:

Sit quietly.

See a circle of Divine Light.

In your mind’s eye, picture someone that you would like to pray for.

Invite them into the circle of light, calling them by name.

Imagine the light, shining down and washing over and through the person,

Revealing the light within her/his own heart.

Then offer a blessing for them:

May you be at peace

May your heart remain open

May you awaken to the light of your own true nature,

May you be healed,

May you be a source of healing for all beings.

Amen

Posted by Lori Megley-Best