THE MORNING AFTER

It is the morning after. The house is empty and quiet and messy. My heart is the same.

The quiet and dark are such a contrast to the many hours I spent celebrating with others over the last week or so. It is such a contrast that my heart feels a little whiplash, like someone has slammed on the brakes. That’s how the morning after often feels, like an abrupt change. But there is gift in it. It is that in the quiet stillness, I have an opportunity to reflect on the gifts of the season and the gatherings.

As usual, we had a number of events that filled our calendar. Here are the main events:

• December 19^th—Pete & I drove down to conduct a Dragonfly Project Volunteer event with 55 teenagers in Blue Earth, MN. I realize now that was our chance to share the gift of our son Hans in the Christmas Season. It was sweet and the teenagers were stellar, making some 1200 cards ready for sharing hope with others.

• We gathered three times with family
• December 21^st a few gathered to celebrate my Other Mother, Charlotte, on her 87^th birthday: After all these years, Charlotte still looks out on the world with loving eyes and sees the best and gives her best with grace, with patience, with kindness. She raised one of the most amazing functional communities of people, alongside her husband and his brother and sister-in-law.  2 couples, 11 children between them on one farm. I am so grateful to have married into this and been able to tap into those deep roots. Thank you Charlotte!
• December 24^th, Christmas Eve, 30 adults and 11 children, age 5 and under, gathered with Charlotte again, to celebrate Christ’s birth and each other. What struck me at this event was all the little ones and their joy with the simplest of things. And no crying or complaining from children or adults!
• December 30^th: Family Day…Pete and I had the deep joy of spending the entire day with just our children and grandchildren; just 10 of us. We went bowling, made gingerbread houses, played a game and ate lots of food. And the 3 yr olds led us in gift giving, insisting that the adults open their presents with their help. They are all such beautiful souls and I am so grateful they live close enough to spend time together.

• December 31^st: we rang in the new year by spending a couple hours with a good friend and her extended family and her dear granddaughter. Then back home, we enjoyed some time catching up with a couple other friends. Each friendship, a treasure and a gift that will sustain us as we cross the threshold into the new year. 

Each of these celebrations was filled with regular people, people who by blood or marriage or friendship have become community together. And though the celebrations vary widely and sometimes involve spilled milk or forgotten bread, they provide these communities with a chance to come together again and renew their bond. And that seems to be the most important gift of this chaos we call Christmas and New Years…to to be together, to remember Jesus is Emmanuel who came to “be with us.” I know that this community bond and this Holy Presence is what will sustain me through the mystery and chaos of another year. And so I give thanks.

Though the morning after can make one feel a bit wonky, I am glad it gave me this time, to sit and ponder the season one more time before moving on to the new year. And this is currently my intent for the new year, to take more time to sit and ponder the simple gifts; especially the gift of family, friends and community.

I wish you all a sweet and wonderful 2019, filled with the love, laughter and joy of community. Peace be with you all!

Love, jules

SONGS OF LOVE

February 16, 2015, Monday

Valentine's Day was Saturday and yesterday the choir at church sang several beautiful songs of love.  (I am grateful for our director, David Livingston's gift of being able to pick just the right songs for each Sunday) Yesterday's songs are still rattling around in my head and heart and keep asking to be shared. So here are the words to three of them. AS you read through, I hope these words seep into your heart as well. Love is the source of all our life. It is a sacred thing because it is from God. Happy loving dear friend! ~ Jules

LOVE SONGS FROM SINGING IN CHOIR

When Our Heart is in a Holy Place

[words & music by Joyce Poley]

CHORUS:

When our heart is in a holy place

When our heart is in a holy place

We are blessed with love and amazing grace

When our heart is in a holy place

When we trust the wisdom in each of us

Every color, every creed and kind

And we see our faces in each other’s eyes

Then our heart is in a holy place.

When we tell our story from deep inside

And we listen with a loving mind

And we hear our voices in each other’s words

Then our heart is in a holy place.

When we share the silence of sacred space

And the God of our Heart stirs within

And we feel the power of each other’s faith

Then our heart is in a holy place.

Love is the Touch

[words by Alison Robertson, Iona Community,
Tune: SLANE, arranged by Lori True]

Love is the touch of intangible joy

Love is the force that no fear can destroy

Love is the goodness we gladly applaud

God is where love is for love is of God

Love is the lilt in a lingering voice

Love is the hope that can make us rejoice

Love is the cure for the frightened and flawed

God is where love is for love is of God

Love is the light in a tunnel of pain

Love is the will to be whole once again

Love is the trust of friend on the road

God is where love is for love is of God

Love is the Maker and Spirit and Son

Love is the kingdom their will has begun.

Love the pathway the saints all have trod

God is where love is for love is of God

A blessing for All Saints Day

November 1, 2013--all Saints' Day

The definition of "saint" according to dictionary.com is "a person of great virtue, holiness, and benevolence." Well then I had to look up virtue, holiness and benevolence.Then words like "moral excellence, goodness, righteousness" and "sacred, pious, devote" and "charitable, kind." Wow! How does any one human or otherwise, manage all that?!? Do you suddenly feel as if an impenetrable brick wall is before you? If so, you are in good company. Even many of the so called saints have had those same feelings. The truth is we are all saints and sinners...and even more than that, we are stew...made up of all the parts, onions, meat, root vegetables, greens, spices and water. In fact it is when we throw all the parts together that a delicious stew is created. Perhaps that could be the definition of saint...a person who has become delicious stew.

Anyway, however you feel about your holiness, here is a blessing for you this day:

Oh sweet and messy one
May the fog lift so you can see

May the guilt fall through the cracks

May your disappointment melt into the ground

As your wings stretch out and unfurl

And your heart opens to the morning sun

A fresh new day, each day a fresh new you being born

Perhaps life is nothing more than that

A series of short (24 hour) lives in which

Stretching your arms out wide

and singing yourself a tune

You experience the joy of testing flight

The delight of tasting the delicious messiness of the stew

All the onions and veggies, meat and water mixed together

My dear and wonderful human being

All of you is love and loved

You are delicious stew

All of you

blessings on you,

jules

About Noise & Silence and Finding the Holy in it, Entry #2

On a  clear August day back in 2001, i was sitting in my kayak in the middle of one of this city's many lakes...listening. I stopped paddling and just listened. It was about eight o'clock in the morning. I just sat there and listened to what I thought would be silence. Later I reflected on that moment. Here is what I wrote:

Noise vs. Silence

The noise of the world is deafening

  Me and the kayak sitting here

On the perfectly still, peaceful lake,

   While speedboats, fishing boats roar,

Lawn mowers are grinding,

   Teenagers’ music is blaring, loudly,

The bass taking over the sound of our heartbeats,

   Cars just beyond the beach are racing past,

Televisions, phones, radios,

   It is hard to escape the noise of the world,

My ears ringing constantly,

   So loud, I can’t think,

Can’t stop, can’t listen,

   Listen to the heartbeat,

Listen to the breathing,

   Hear the wind,

And know what the Spirit is Saying.

Silence vs. Truth

The silence of the World is heart-wrenching,

   Everyone speaks but,

No one says anything,

   Exaggerations, sarcasm, anger, teasing,

Idioms, Slang, small talk, big talk,

   Beating around the bush,

Skirting the issues,

   But secrets are kept,

Lies are told,

   And silence is golden,

A silence so pervasive that,

   Our heart is closed now,

Unable to hear the heartbeat,

   Listen to the breathing,

Feel the pulse of the world,

   And know what the soul is saying.

Silence & Truth

Are we listening?

   Can we hear?

Are we speaking?

   What does the Spirit say?

What do you notice about noise and silence?

jules