… watching for the brushstrokes of God
“ Those who have died have never, never left
The dead are not under the earth
They are in the rustling trees
They are in the groaning woods
They are in the crying grass
They are in the moaning rocks
The dead are not under the earth” Sweet Honey in the Rock
How do we learn to carry our grief? How does grief as a vital ongoing conversation accompany us throughout life? What spaces does grief open up?
“The earth is a revelation, offering itself to us daily in an astonishing array of beauty and suffering. What is required of us is living with a level of openness and vulnerability to the joys and sorrows of the world.” Francis Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow
How do you take in the beauty and the suffering?
Sunsets draw us. Is it their quiet beauty? Their stunning colors? Their peacefulness? Their promise of rest at the end of the day? The permission to let go as the sun dips below the horizon? A spaciousness to breathe and be rejuvenated?
How do sunsets draw you?
Today is the third anniversary of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville that led to the deaths of Heather Heyer, and state police Jay Cullen and Berke Bates. It exposed racism as something that had always been here. How has our community changed as we revisit the trauma of that weekend?
How do you remember and mark this day? What have you learned about white supremacy in this country? Are you praying with your feet?
Imagination is the ability to see beyond what is and sense the almost imperceptible gentle breezes of the spirit. The artist sees a painting where there is only an empty canvas, a sculpture where there is only a stone. The prophet imagines a world not yet visible, naming truth to live into God’s fullness.
How do you develop your imagination? What do you imagine?
O healing river, send down your waters,
send down your waters upon this land.
O healing river, send down your waters,
and wash the blood from off the sand.
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This land is parching, this land is burning,
no seed is growing in the barren ground.
O healing river, send down your waters,
O healing river, send you waters down.
.
Let the seed of freedom awake and flourish,
let the deep roots nourish, let the tall stalks rise.
O healing river, send down your waters,
O healing river, from out of the skies.
Where do you notice healing flow? Where are parched places?
With the Eyes of the Heart 