Wedding Joy

This Labor Day weekend, I had the privilege and honor of witnessing my beautiful sister-in-law's wedding. If you are a praying person, I hope you will share your blessings and prayers for this lovely couple's future together.

Soft violin and guitar music waft through the late morning air—gentle strains of classical music with just a hint of folk performed flawlessly by the two cousins. Natural beauty and talent merge in the midst of the beautiful garden setting. Sounds of family and loved ones gathering fill the air: children laughing, a newborn crying, grandparents marveling at the sight of their offspring.

The day is sunny and warm. Summer is waning, but fall has not quite arrived. The wedding goers in their finery cross paths briefly with the tourists clad in shorts and tennis shoes as they enter the botanic gardens. It is a beautifully amazing day but none is prepared for the absolute stunning brilliance of the bride herself.

She is radiant and glowing. I am not sure there has ever been a bride more lovely. She is a woman of confidence and surety. She has waited a lifetime for this moment. The day has been planned with care and perfection for there is no doubt in her mind that this is where and with who she wants to be. There is no hesitation as she enters the garden on the arm of her father.

Breathtaking is the only appropriate word. There seems to be an audible sense of awe as she walks down the short stone pathway toward her groom. He is the handsome equal to her glowing beauty. All eyes are on them.

The female minister, a cousin to the bride, reminds us of what we already know, this is a day that has been thought through with great love and care. We are asked to take a moment and be present to our surroundings; to be witnesses and participants of this joyous and solemn occasion.

As the vows are exchanged, the groom’s voice catches as he speaks to his bride of her beauty and his love and honor for her. There is not a dry eye in the party and all can sense this is a moment that has been ordained by God. Sanctity and beauty resonate throughout the gardens.

Following the vows, the new family is united and honored—bride, groom and grown daughter of the bride. The maid of honor is standing tall and beautiful beside her mother. For me, she is eternally three—a little girl with flowers in her hair. But in this moment, she is a grown woman rejoicing that her mother has finally found the happiness she so richly deserves.

The new family takes communion as the witnesses pray blessings for their future. The earth seems to rejoice along with them. The clouds have offered a bit of shade from the midday sun. The grass gleams greenly around us. A slight breeze blows. God has consecrated this union. Softly, the violin and guitar usher the newlyweds into the beginning of their life together.

9/1/07

sanctuary of the soul

"Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home into Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely to the Light within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, creative Life that presses to birth within us." Thomas Kelly -- A Testament of Devotion

photo by bill

This award will be given to those that are just nice people, good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others, that are there to lend support, or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!

opening the eyes of our soul

words from my morning prayer:

the arms of God wrap around me. enclosing me. enveloping me. telling me i am safe without words. i breathe him in. the scent of his maleness and my beauty combined. sensuous. sensual. becoming one. coming home. just breathe. breathe me in. sense me like a child taking my hand. like a dog who raises his nose to the fresh morning air. breathe me in.

safety. trust. sensual. born to be beautiful. to ache with desire and settle into trust. the pain and the glory. breathe me in. just breathe. so rich, so pure. Yahweh. breath of God. carrying me on the wind. cradled. held. met. no terror. free. free falling. held. lovely. kind. free.

These words from Henri Nouwen followed:

The desert fathers...point us toward a very holistic view of prayer. They pull us away from our intellectualizing practices, in which God becomes one of the many problems we have to address. They show us that real prayer penetrates to the marrow of our soul and leaves nothing untouched. The prayer of the heart is a prayer that does not allow us to limit our relationship with God to interesting words or pious emotions. By its very nature such prayer transforms our whole being into Christ precisely because it opens the eyes of our soul to the truth of ourselves as well as to the truth of God. The prayer of the heart challenges us to hide absolutely nothing from God and to surrender ourselves unconditionally to God's mercy. --The Way of the Heart

Praise be to God. Amen.

photo by bill

Simple as a Love Song

"I was four years old. I was playing, alone, in a thicket of trees and bushes. A moment came when there was sound and silence at the same time. I became exquisitely aware of the breeze through the leaves, of the sunlight dappling across the earth in front of me. I understood that this was an experience of God in me and around me. It was strange and familiar at the same time, and it was the simplest thing in the world." from Tess at Anchors and Masts

Simple as a love song from God. We spend our lives trying to learn the notes of that song. Desiring to be purely seen and heard. To be enwrapped in arms that hold and love us. To become exquisitely aware of all that surrounds and encapsulates who we are. The longing. The desire. Everyone loves a love story. You know the ones…where eyes lock, energy charges and the lovers are known without pretense—without all the if-you-really-knew-me-you-wouldn’t-love-me stuff. In an instant barriers are overcome and magic happens.

It may only be a split second where everything else in the world disappears and you know you are loved. Your heart sings the love song. You experience God’s presence. You know He, She, Me exists. People spend a lifetime searching for that feeling, but it seems that you cannot find it when you work at it. You can only open heart, mind, and soul to the experience. It often comes when and where you least expect it. A stranger on the street. A child. A film or book. The words of poetry. The dancing of butterflies. The breeze through the leaves. A broken heart.

It may take a lifetime to find your own song, but when you experience it you know that you have found heaven on earth and it is something you will never forget it.

“Heaven is right here in front of me: Heaven, Heaven!” It only lasted a moment: but it left a breathless joy and a clean peace and happiness that stayed for hours and it was something I have never forgotten.” –Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain

photo by bill