Monthly Archives: November 2014

Happy Thanksgiving

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Saturday’s Meditation – Psalm 104 :31-35

May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
   may the Lord rejoice in his works—
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
   who touches the mountains and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
   I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
   for I rejoice in the Lord.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
   and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

Simple Things

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My mind was continually interrupted this morning as I tried to meditate on the energy of God’s Spirit within me. Bits and pieces of my life were flashing back and forth. As I tried to draw myself back into focus, recent events in my life kept creeping in. I realized however that they were the simplest of thoughts which gave me joy. So perhaps I just needed to be gently reminded of how much God is in the simple things. Thank you Lord for this life. Thank you for the ebb and flow. Thank you for the lessons I’ve learned and the wisdom you’ve allowed me to share. Thank you for reaching down even when I was unwilling or unable to reach up. Thank you for the flicker and the flame in the darkness. Thank you for the restlessness and the peace in the light.

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Open And Unwarranted

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Needing to take some time after the grand jury in Ferguson, MO decided not to indict the officer responsible for shooting Michael Brown, my heart is dismayed but not surprised. It seems to be an open and unwarranted escalation of the fear of presence, as a legitimate excuse to shoot-to-kill a human being. So much needs to change, from the systematic degradation of the body and mind by a society on people of color to the strengthening of our communities to fight back by building up the body and minds of our posterity and their gifts, in order to strangle this continuous perpetuation of the lie which says that the presence of black men and boys are to be feared. I am thankful for my husband, father and grandfathers who have worked to provide for their families and contribute to society. I can honestly say that their participation in this world is evidence of a strong and passionate heritage. I am thankful for my two sons who continue to work towards their own future and God willing, for their future families. I am thankful and excited about the gifts they too will offer to this world.  I am thankful for the major cities which stood in protest of the Ferguson event and encouraged by the diversity of faces expressing the value and importance of respecting the dignity of every human being. Tonight I pray for all families who have lost precious lives to the absurdity of this fear in which no one deserves to be subjected. Lord in your mercy, hear my prayer.

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Thankfulness

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We know that it is possible to take advantage of our physical wealth, forgetting the ultimate source of our blessings. It is however also possible to take advantage of our spiritual wealth as well, forgetting that knowledge of God does not make us special because it is there for anyone who chooses to seek Truth. What it makes us, is accountable to what we claim to believe and to the language and actions we use to express those beliefs. If we say that we are thankful for God’s presence in our life then let us be thankful. Although it may seem inconvenient, thankfulness requires taking the time to pray. Prayer draws us closer to God, opens our heart and mind and renders enlightenment, peace and joy. If we are truly thankful we know that the “holiday” of Thanksgiving is not just one day that we take off (which less and less people are doing every year) but rather gratefulness that is lived out every day. Gratefulness is a gift that desires to be expressed. Let us daily continue to fulfill God’s graciousness with our true thankfulness.

Centering Prayer

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Saturday’s Meditation – Psalm 108:1-4

Steadfast Love – Steadfast Faith

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
   I will sing and make melody.
   Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
   I will awake the dawn.
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
   and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
   and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Wisdom Lottery

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One of my childhood memories was the time my family was traveling from Philadelphia to Baltimore to visit relatives. At that time it was about a two hour car ride. Shortly in to the trip I started asking every imaginable question that seem to come to mind. Finally, after obliging me my mother said quite irritated; “Why do you ask so many question?” Up to that point it seemed to be a fun activity. I paused a moment and responded, “How else am I supposed to get the answers?” My mother paused and said rather exhausted, “You’re absolutely right.” I remember feeling very vindicated at the time, perhaps in some small way like I had won the “wisdom” lottery. However, I didn’t cash in as I was smart enough to realize that I was wearing my mother out with my questions. Needless to say the rest of the trip was fairly quiet. I loved that my mother always seemed to faithfully have the answers. Though I am still yet to be wise beyond my years, I know that in the best of times and the worst of times, God faithfully has the answers and we must continually seek God out. My mother became irritated because she was human but God is never irritated with our faithfulness to seek Truth. For prayer is the vehicle to God’s wisdom. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?  Luke 18:1-8

Pervasive Grace

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If we continue to follow after the the things of the world,  we miss opportunities to live out true Love today. If we are always living in the familiar and the comfortable, we miss the true rewards that come with challenges and change. If we are always looking backwards, we miss the true pervasiveness of God’s grace in front of us .” …the Kingdom of God is among you.” Luke 17:20-37

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Change Maker

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A friend once shared that she used the same Gynecologist in the city for years. Although she and her family eventually moved to the suburbs, she continued to travel into the city to see this one doctor. Over the years the neighborhood in which the gynecologist’s office was located experienced an ethnic shift. Gradually the complexion of the other clients got darker until finally one day she walked in to the doctors office and noticed that not one of the persons in the waiting room looked like her. Admittedly, it was her first experienced understanding of what it felt like to be a minority. It would be her last visit. I’ve often wondered, what if the doctor had felt the same way and decided to leave the neighborhood for good. Who would those women of color, now in that neighborhood, eventually go see? We know that change is inevitable in this world and yet when it happens we have a tendency to run away from the change in an effort to seek a more familiar environment or circumstance. We struggle to see and or ignore the potential opportunity that change can bring. Since we know that change is inevitable, eventually there will be no place we can go before it catches up with us. God is the change maker! If we turn back towards the change, we allow ourselves to find familiarity in the midst of the change and realize that deep within we are not so different after all. Children of God uniting with one another rather than separating from each other; building up rather than breaking down. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back praising God… Luke 17:11-19