Weekend Reflections on the Word of God - November 29, 2009

Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.”
Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation.
Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God.
Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded that there are moments in loving relationships when words are unnecessary.
Come into the presence of the Lord.

"Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now." 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)

Lord, I have read this verse many, many times. The words “cloudy mirror” and “perfect clarity” have fed my mind and spirit in meditative moments, yet tonight the last few words in this verse resonates within my soul.

“Just as God knows me now”

You understand me now.
You see me complete.
You grasp all of me – the good and the not so good – in ways I can’t even imagine.

You know why I allow barbed comments to pierce my heart and wear sores in my soul like a sharp pepple in my shoe.

You recognize my self defeating habits long before they seize control over my behaviors.

You are familiar with what makes my heart jump with joy, my eyes light up with new insights and my mind to wander aimlessly down dark canyons of wasted time and energy.

Lord you know me now.

And to think you still love me, want a relationship with me, and send me daily blessings.
I praise you, O Lord, who knows my name, the number of hairs on my head and the amount of heart beats left in my life.

My heart bursts with gratitude for this “God who knows me now.”

My only prayer is to know you more.

Happy New Year – Welcome the new Church Year – Advent begins November 29th

November 29 begins the new church year with the season of Advent. Here are some interesting facts about Advent:

• The word Advent, from Latin, means “the coming.” For centuries, Advent has been a time of spiritual reflection as well as cheer and anticipation.


• Advent is the beginning of the church calendar year since the fourth century. Originally, it was a time when converts to Christianity readied themselves for baptism.


• Historically, the primary sanctuary color of Advent is Purple. This is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King.


• More recently some churches, including my own, use the Blue as the liturgical color. Why the switch? Advent is a season of preparation that anticipates both Bethlehem and the consummation of history in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Since this anticipation is characterized by hope -- in contrast to the repentance characteristic of Lent -- the color for the season should not be purple, with its mood of solemnity and somberness, but blue with its hopefulness.


• Advent wreaths have their origins in the folk traditions of northern Europe, where in the deep of winter people lit candles on wheel-shaped bundles of evergreen. Both the evergreen and the circular shape symbolized ongoing life.


• The Advent wreath has three purple candles and one pink candle. They represent the four weeks of our preparation before the coming of our Lord.


• An advent calendar is a card or poster with twenty-four small doors, one to be opened each day from December 1 until Christmas Eve. Each door conceals a picture. This popular tradition arose in Germany in the late 1800s and soon spread throughout Europe and North America


• The Great O Antiphons are seven brief evening prayers that are traditionally chanted during Advent worship from the 17th to the 23rd of December. The precise origin of these texts is unknown. However, by the 8th and 9th centuries, the church in Rome and monastic communities throughout western Europe were using them at evening worship services during the season of Advent. These ancient supplications beautifully express the Christian church's profound yearning for her long expected Savior.

Pause in the midst of company, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and wrapping to remember why we celebrate Christmas. Advent is the time of waiting, of hope and expectation, and longing to once again hear the story of our Savior’s birth.

Celebrate the season of waiting!

Three Thoughts about Thankfulness - 2009 Thanksgiving Reflection

The United States celebrates a day of Thanksgiving this week. Many families pause and share something they are thankful for as they stuffed themselves with food, football, and family.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (New International Version)

What? In all circumstances? Come on, God, you don’t really mean that, do you? I am supposed to give thanks for everything – even the crummy, dirty, unfair stuff? I try to remember to show my appreciation when good things happen and even remember some of the time to shot up a “hey thanks, God” for some of the ordinary events in life, but really God, in ALL things?

Oswald Chambers reminds us that “The best measure of the spiritual life is not its ecstasies, but its obedience.”

Difficult, isn’t it? I have a long way to go in learning to express thanks, but here are three thoughts about Thanksgiving that are nurturing a spirit of gratitude within me.

Pay Attention for Times to be Thankful:
What little, hidden or forgotten moments in life can I pay attention to more often? Exam of conscious is a spiritual practice where at the end of each day we reflect back over the events of the day, asking questions. Questions could be: “When did I sense God’s presence today?” or “How did I express love to others and to God?”

The two questions that have helped nurture thankfulness in my life are: What am I most grateful today and what am I least grateful for?

When I first began asking these questions I thought identifying what went wrong with the day would be the easiest, but have found overwhelmingly I see multiple points of gratitude clearer than the difficult times. In fact, many times what during the day appeared covered with dirt, later bathed in prayer reveals a nugget of truth to guide my life.

By paying attention to the many times God blesses my daily moments helps me to cultivate a renewed sense of thankfulness.

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! ~Henry Ward Beecher

Practice Giving Thanks
This story has long haunted my memory and stands as an example of the value of saying thanks even when we don’t understand:

Corrie Ten Boom wrote her amazing story of love, courage and forgiveness in the book, The Hiding Place. She and her family helped to hid Jewish families during the Nazi occupation in Holland. Their whole family was arrested and taken to concentrations camps.

Corrie tells this one incident which once I heard, I never forgot:
Corrie and her sister Betsy were taken to the concentration camp and after much persecution arrived at their barracks. After a few days they found that their barracks were infested with lice. Corrie was upset and told Betsy that she didn't know how she was going to sleep at night knowing that their beds were full of tiny, crawling bugs. Betsy, with her gentle spirit, reminded Corrie that she must thank God for everything.
After a while, Corrie began to wonder why the guards never came to check their barracks as they did the others. It was found out that the guards never came because of the lice. Betsy and Corrie led Bible studies each night without fear, knowing that the guards would not enter their barracks... thanks to the lice!

Corrie’s story reminds me that even the nuisances of life could be opportunities for thanksgiving.
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

Creatively Express Thanks
Ever hear the story of Martin Rinkart and how he expressed thankfulness?

Rinkart was a Lutheran pastor in Germany in the 1600s and he began his ministry just as the terrible bloodshed of the Thirty Years War erupted. His city of Eilenberg was a walled city which became the refuge for political and military fugitives. This, however, caused serious overcrowding, and deadly pestilence and famine swept through the city. Armies overran it three times, leaving death and destruction in their wake. The population of Germany went from 16 million to 6 million during this time.

In the year 1637 the plague was particularly severe. At its peak, Rinkart was the only pastor remaining in Eilenberg, conducting as many as 50 funerals in a day. He performed more than 4000 funerals in that year alone, including that of his beloved wife.

Yet in the midst of this, Rinkart wrote hymns, in fact, multiple songs for God. One in particular is appropriate for Thanksgiving season "Now Thank We All Our God." He penned the words:

O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful heartsAnd blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next.

Wow, Rinkart models for us a creative way to respond to the challenges in life when all seems lost and gratitude is the last thing in our heart. Not all of us compose music, but I bet most of us could find a way to express thankfulness in some imaginative way.

Lessons?

“Give thanks in all circumstances” through paying attention for times to be thankful,
practice, practice and practice thanking God for even the minute inconveniences in life,
and allow our imagination to led us creatively into thankfulness.


May the gift of gratitude grace you during this holiday season.

Weekend Reflections on the Word of God - November 22, 2009

Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.”
Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation.
Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God.
Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded that there are moments in loving relationships when words are unnecessary.
Come into the presence of the Lord.

The Lord your God is with you,
he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

I see, Lord, in these verses I am passive
You are doing it all.

I don’t have to try to force you to appear
You are with me all the time

I don’t have try and try again to save myself or to earn your love
You already have used your power to save insignificant little me

I don’t have to hide my heart in shame and sorrow
You lavished delightful buckets of joy over my life’s journey

When I cry out in my pain and fear
You promise to surround me with your love that quiets my terror and hushes my aching heart

And I can hardly believe the last verse
You rejoice over me?
You sing about me?
You are doing for me what I should be doing for you
Let me use this time, this day to praise you
Let me give you back the gifts you have first given me – your love, your presence, your joy

Thank you for being an active, not passive God

Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest and simple graces as special favors. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the Most High God.
Thomas à Kempis

My Conditional Love and God’s Unconditional Love

Once a month I help to facilitate the spiritual formation of a small group of people called to be spiritual directors. This past weekend we discussed Gerald May’s book Will and Spirit. This book fed my soul and mind in numerous ways, but one section in particular resonated in my heart.

Buried in the middle of his chapter on love, he lists ways we get confused about our understanding of love.

One obstacle May writes is “expecting unconditional love from human beings” and the second one: “expecting conditional love from God.”

Suddenly upon hearing those phrases, though among many, I sat alone with God. What does this mean, Lord? Why did those phrases so deeply touch my spirit?

Expecting unconditional love from human beings will set us up for failure, anger, bitterness and discouragement. We just can’t do it as humans, yet I know I have too many times sought that connection with others fully expecting to find what I am hungering for. Then I begin to wonder: what did I do wrong? What can’t that person love me for who I am? Didn’t he/she notice that upset me? I really do appreciate the love and support I receive from my family and friends, but the reality is this type of love is never perfect.

Expecting conditional love from God is another false step I continually take. Even though I have been told and fully believe in God’s unconditional love for me, my image of God lingers as a judge sitting at a distance whose love I need to earn. I know better, but still am amazed how often I find myself acting differently.

Divine love is present for all of us and is totally out of our control and will. He does love us all unconditionally.

He lavishes his love upon us. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

May writes, “The prospect of really being loved no matter who we are, how we are or what we do is so humbling that in spite of its reassurance, it terrifies us.”

I sat in that room alone with my thoughts as the class continued to discuss this book. I was no longer in Toledo Ohio but on a dusty road with the prodigal son, seeing with my human heart God running towards me, wrapping his accepting arms around me and welcoming me into his unconditional loving heart.

Thank you, Loving Lord.

Does God Giggle? A Prayer for Spiritual Silliness

Dear Creator God, I am in awe of all you have made – the morning sun, the majestic mountains, and the shimmering seas.

The Bible tells me we are created in your image. I cling to that promise when I wear the mask of piety or struggle to be loving.

When I kiss my granddaughter’s neck and tickle her tummy, she erupts with a glorious giggle. Her infectious laugh causes me to wonder: if you are THE creator, does that mean you also invented giggles? Do you giggle?

You waved your hand and the universe was born. You designed the order of stars and planets and how things on earth grow and multiply. We stand in speechless amazement of your handiwork yet I think this innovative time was full of joy for you.

Did you smile when you developed the prototype of the elephant and decided to exchange its long tail and short nose with a short tail and long nose?

Did you kick up the dust with a cheering skip with when you threw like Frisbees, not one, not two but multiple rings around Saturn?

Were you thrilled to paint the faces on pansies or punch holes that look like cheese on the moon’s surface?

Did snickers erupt among the angels when they first saw shape and color of pineapples, the bouncing dance of dropped cranberry or tasted the tart, juicy lemon?

Were you in a happy zone forming the long graceful tendrils of the jelly fish or fabricated other fish to look like horses or stars?

You created and blessed us with joy.
Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Psalm 111: 2

Lord I ask you for the spirit of silliness when I sink into self pity, the gift of giggles when depression weighs heavy on my heart and the light of laughter when my eyes only see dark. You know the right time to send these gifts. Help me find the warmth of your smile and remember you created everything, including giggles.

Weekend Reflections on the Word of God - November 15, 2009

Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.”
Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation.
Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God.
Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded that there are moments in loving relationships when words are unnecessary.
Come into the presence of the Lord.




Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.
But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
Psalm 73:23-28 (New Living Translation)

I still belong to you –

Though I neglect you
I still belong to you –
Though I forget you
I still belong to you –
Though I try to fill my life with worldly things
I still belong to you
Though my heart wanders
I still belong to you

Thank you for being the God who clings to me no matter how I behave
Loves me no matter how I act
Forgives me no matter how I stray

Thank you Lord for never giving up on me and that
I still belong to you.

Making a Difference through Simple Compassion

What difference can I make? How can I show compassion? What is my role in fighting injustice in the world?

I just read a new book by Keri Wyatt Kent, titled Simple Compassion- Devotions to Make a Difference in your Neighborhood and your World. This book contains 52 devotional readings about compassion that could use individually or by a small group. Each chapter contains Biblical references and ends with action steps. A leader’s guide is also printed for small group reference.

The book offers inspiration and motivation to explore how God is calling each of us to grow hearts full of compassion. What a refreshing way to approach a topic like this that should be rooted in prayer and meditation by having an only a once a week reading. This creates space to open our hearts to how God is calling us and our eyes to fully see injustice surrounding us.

Two quotes I especially liked are: “If the goal of Christian spiritual formation is to become more Christ-like, then I should be more compassionate, more concerned for fighting against injustice.” And “I want to take smalls steps of compassion. To dance upon injustice and invite others to dance with me, not just to shine my own little light but also to join with others so that our light will break forth like the dawn.”

This book overflows with simple steps to become more aware of your community and the world, both full of injustices. I noticed many of her suggestions also simplify our lives, a deep yearning in many of us.

Keri’s warm and welcoming approach in her writing pulls in the reader as if she is talking with us in our kitchens over a cup of tea.

We are called to be difference makers in this world. This book provides insight and guidance to help you develop compassion in your life.

Disclaimer: Zondervan Publishers sent me this book at no cost to review and post on my blog. But I asked to do this since I have been a fan of Keri’s other books and personally have been feeling a call to grow more in the area of justice. Check out Keri’s web site at http://www.keriwyattkent.com/ for more information.

Five “What” Questions to Nurture Spiritual Growth

I believe God loves questions. He planted inside each of us a curiosity and he graciously is willing to receive our questions. He even is generous enough to hear some of the same questions over and over and over again.

I ask questions all the time when talking with God. Of course I don’t always wait for his answer but that is another story. I have slowly learned to accept that mystery of unanswered questions that dominate much of our lives here on earth.

Jesus asked many questions: Why do you worry? What can you give? Why are you afraid? What do you want? Who do you say that I am?

Personally I am fond of the What questions.
The question that asks Where could also be a fun one to explore.
I know the Who – God
I don’t think we are to know When since we aren’t in charge, God is.
I am not sure we will ever know the Why until we are in heaven and maybe not then.

Here are five “what” questions that recently have been surfacing in my prayers, Bible study, and meditations:

1. What does that mean? Any good Lutheran reading this will recognize this classic question that Martin Luther used both in his spiritual journey and in his teaching. A great question to probe deeper into a bible verse or to reflect on a movement within your soul.

2. What if? What if I took this path or what if I didn’t? What is the worst that could happen? Great questions to help in discerning steps in life. This question also helps me gather courage to be a risk taker instead of shying away from opportunities.

3. What are my options? I learned a long time ago the value to this question. Asking this opens the mind to expanded possibilities instead of thinking there is only one way out of a situation. Again another great discernment and problem solving question.

4. Deep down, what do I want and/or what is bothering me? Often the first answer is not the answer. I need to look deeper behind whatever is stirring, calling or disturbing my spirit and beyond the obvious answers.

5. What is the most loving thing to do? I retired from a health care administration job and often the pressures of meetings, phone calls and paper work overwhelmed my schedule. I learned early one though that people were more important than paper. Even when tough not popular decisions loomed, implementing the action with love soften the rough ride for all.

The right question nourishes the spirit. What “what” question is your favorite?

Weekend Reflections on the Word of God - November 8, 2009

Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.”
Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation.
Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God.
Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded that there are moments in loving relationships when words are unnecessary.
Come into the presence of the Lord.

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Psalm 95:1-7 (NIV)

Your hands, Lord
Your hands hold the depth of the very earth I stand upon
Your hands even contain the tip of the highest mountain
Your hands claim both the sea and dry land; your name is inscribed throughout nature
You are God.

Your hands, Lord
Your hands that hold all of creation, also enfold me
Your hands encircle my very life and embrace the lives of those I love
Your hands claim me as one you designed, formed, and created
Forgive me when I belittle any of your handiwork and forget that your hands still hold me today.
You are God.


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Spiritual Kindness

I believe in kindness.

The intentional practice of being kind connects us with one another, gives us energy to walk our daily journey, and brings joy that brightens dreary, lonely days. An act of kindness lingers in our souls providing strength and nourishment and is sometimes the only thread we have to cling to.

I believe in kindness.

It is easier not to go visit an elderly friend or to smile at the store clerk or to cook soup for the lonely widower. But this doesn’t make it right either. It will take me a lifetime to fully learn that it is not about me, my wants or needs.

I believe in kindness.

I believe we have to make our minds up to practice this quality moment by moment, day by day.
Michael Roach tells a story about kindness in the book The Diamond Cutter:

"The early Buddhists of Tibet were known as the Kadampas — they were simple people, herders and carpenters and small farmers, who took to the new ideas like fish to water, in their simple but exquisite way. They carried around a small bag of pebbles, half white and half black. Whenever they had a very good thought, or said something very positive to another person, or did someone else a kindness, they would take a white pebble out and put it say in their left pocket. Every time they had a negative thought about someone else, or said or did something unkind to another person, they would take a black pebble out of the bag and put it in their right pocket.
"At the end of the day, just before going to bed, they would take all the pebbles out of their pockets and count up the black and the white. They immediately learned, as you will too, that the black pebbles far outnumbered the white pebbles. This isn't to say we're all evil and that we should always feel guilty or dirty — it just means that the basic condition of most minds in this corner of the universe (and there are many other corners) happens to work that way. A very, very important quality of our minds though — and you can see this is true — is that they are eminently trainable. With a little practice, your mind can learn almost anything; it's just a question of putting your mind to it."

I believe in kindness.

Being kind is contagious – one act leads to another, then another. Kindness radiates a powerful positive reach far beyond our imagination. Mother Teresa wrote, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

Kindness is a quality I feel I need to nurture more in my life and my heart is open to God’s leading in this area.

In my kitchen hangs a plaque I have had for many years that reads:
“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.”

I believe in kindness.

Spiritual Mold Growing in my Soil/Soul

I didn’t see it happen. My husband walked in from the garage, obviously amused by something he observed. He looked like the Cheshire cat with a silly grin on his face and twinkle in his eyes.

“You are quite the gardener,” he said with a mischievous smirk.
“What do you mean?” I asked, squinting my eyes with a growing suspicion that the answer was not one I was going to like.
“You have grown a wonderful batch of mold and mushrooms in the garage.”

I investigated and found out it was true. Yucky mold and yellowish mushrooms thrived, spreading their deep golden roots throughout my neglected bag of mulch. Several sprouts stalwartly burst through the plastic bag. A healthy bag of mulch whose purpose was to encourage the blooming of gorgeous backyard flowers now served to grow ugly things that never should see the light of day.

I did have good intentions but neglected to follow through.

I find that also true of my spiritual walk at times.

My soul is best nourished with daily prayer, reading the scriptures and listening to God. I am healthiest when I first focus my attention on Him who created me.
When I neglect the care of my soul, moldy habits grow deep roots producing unintended consequences.
And it happens so quickly.

My lesson?
Don’t neglect what I know needs to be done. Inattention and carelessness will not only grow things that you don’t want in live, but also waste what used to be good and healthy.

What is neglected is soon forgotten then becomes rotten.

Weekend Reflections on the Word of God - November 1, 2009

Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.”
Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation.
Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God.
Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded that there are moments in loving relationships when words are unnecessary.
Come into the presence of the Lord.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

Sufficient.
God tells me he is sufficient.
“I am enough. “ he whispers.
What else could I want or need?

Enough
God alone will satisfy my every hunger,
My every thirst
My every desire.

Enough
When I am afraid, God alone hold buckets of courage for me
When I am lonely, God alone reaches out in a deep never ending friendship
When I am anxious, God alone annoints me with an endless supply of peace.

Reminds me of the saying from St. Teresa of Avila:
Let nothing trouble you.
Let nothing scare you.
All is fleeting.
God alone is unchanging.
Patience
Everything obtains.
Who possesses God
Nothing wants.
God alone suffices.

We are like pieces of a broken puzzle – unfinished without God. God alone completes the grand portrait.
We shiver in frightening weakness; He wraps his mighty arms around us and remains with us with his strength.
We lag behind: He surges ahead.
What we lack, he shares in his abundance.

Sufficient
Enough

God alone is enough