Food...for Thought: 25 April 2010

Give us each day our daily bread
Luke 11:3

While mowing the lawn on Thursday I paused to take a peek inside the little white bird house. On Thursday while mowing the lawn, I noticed the Eastern bluebirds flying in and out of the little white bird house rather frequently. When I worked my way to the back of the yard, I paused to take a peek inside the little house hanging on the tree. To my surprise and utter delight, the eggs had hatched and the three little ones were snuggled down in the nest with beaks wide open! Sure enough, that explained the numerous trips by the adult birds to and from the bird house - they were busy gathering food and bringing it back to their young ones. And this will continue each day until the young ones are big enough and old enough and strong enough to leave the nest and learn how to find food for themselves.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer I often wonder if we take the time to truly ponder the words we are speaking. It's such a familiar prayer and perhaps it becomes easy to simply recite it without much thought (or heart) put into it (hopefully that is not the case). In part we are asking that we be given our "daily bread". What does that mean?

Answers to that question are likely as numerous as the numbers of those who wish to ponder it. To me, praying for daily bread means I am asking God to grant me and those for whom I pray all the blessings, courage, and strength to deal with whatever may come into life today. It means I have faith that God knows what we truly need (rather than what we think we need or merely want) and will feed us with just the right "food" to nourish and sustain us. Our task is to simply notice and gratefully receive the Sacred generosity and Love.

Peace on the Journey

Tapestry of Life: 18 April 2010

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
Matthew 6: 26, 28-29

Over the past week I've noticed how much more alive nature has become. Almost daily different species of birds arrived at the feeders along with those downy and red-bellied woodpeckers who frequented the suet cages all winter. The Eastern bluebird couple completed their nest in the little white house and now there are three blue eggs incubating. It won't be long before they hatch and mother and father bird will be kept busy fetching food for them all day long. The trees have started to bud out and some even have leaves forming already. Daffodils and crocuses are in full bloom, the tulips have buds that will soon open and...the first crop of dandelions for the season is starting to speckle lawns and fields with their yellow glow. The frogs are serenading us with their joyful music in the pond each evening and long into the night. All this by the movements of nature and the grace and care of the Sacred One.

And yet, we are so apt to worry about "what's next" - what to eat, what to wear, what new "gadget" we should or will buy, even who says what to whom. Putting our faith in God's abundant Love and care for us is often times easy to forget, or dismiss. We tend to focus on the "things of the world" (not necessarily a bad thing when we use our gifts and talents wisely) at the expense of taking stalk in the abundant seen and unseen ways our Sacred Provider loves and blesses us daily with so many wonderful gifts and talents. All too often we may focus our minds and hearts on all those tomorrows and we miss the Sacred touch of this day, this moment.

Yes indeed, how much more does the Heavenly One care for us than the birds of the air and the lilies of the field? Ponder with me, if you wish, the sacred movements in our lives and discover anew how beautifully the hand of our Sacred Creator is woven into the very tapestry of our lives and all of creation.

Peace on the Journey

Expectations: 11 April 2010

Just a week or so ago the sights and sounds of spring were so abundant. The warm, sunny days helped to open up the blossoms on daffodils and crocuses. The tulips popped out of the ground and the trees started budding out. The pair of Eastern bluebirds that claimed the little white bird house in our yard completed their nest. Every morning we awoke to the music of the chirping birds. And then...two days ago we got three inches of snow in our area. So typical of spring in Wisconsin. After days of gorgeous spring weather I suspect many of us had the expectation of no more snow. Ha! Mother Nature fooled us yet again.

Pondering expectations...

In any society people are expected to act in certain ways - obey the laws of the land - so as to live in a peaceable way. That only makes sense. However, expectations place upon us by others, perhaps in our circle of friends and acquaintances and/or family regarding how to live, what to do and when, what to believe, who to believe, etc. can be something else all together. When we base and live our whole life trying to live up to those kind of expectations others place upon us are we really living our own life; following our own path? Or are we living a life someone else thinks we should live?

I have long ago come to the conclusion that there is only One whose expectations are important: those of our Sacred Creator. Knowing we cannot live up to those Holy expectations perfectly, we should still have the courage to do the best we can. And even though we will most likely still come across situations where our "buttons" are pushed or at worst, times when someone talks or acts in a hurtful way toward us we can rest assured of the deep and unconditional Love of the Sacred who dwells within and around us.

Peace on the Journey.