Category: good for the soul

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loving my new journal!

Simone Martini, fresco detail depicting Saint ...
Simone Martini, fresco detail depicting Saint Clare of Assisi, (1322–26), Lower basilica of San Francesco, Assisi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Today’s little piece of inspiration from my journal comes from St. Clare of Assisi:

May we love one another with the charity of Christ. May the love that we have in our hearts show itself in our actions. And may our love and example increase love of and charity for one another in all places. Amen.

Wow. I wish I had read that this morning, instead of after lunch. It’s my own fault for changing my writing routine…it would have been an awesome companion to my morning devotion.  But…there it is. Now, when I’m doing this 🙂

I read it over and over as I prepared to write…because it doesn’t say for “those people you like.” It says “for one another in all places.”

That’s what makes being a Christian so hard — that crazy call to love one another. To love, if I may say so, the unlovable. It’s the hardest thing we have to do, and it’s what Jesus commanded us to do. In all places.

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another rainy day

It’s another rainy day here in good ole Georgia. I love the rain. It’s a crazy thing to tell people, especially those people who crave sunlight and light and all that airiness.

Don’t misunderstand, I like the light! I like the big open windows in my living room, but there’s something about a rainy day that makes me just a little more productive, a little more reflective, and generally, a little more calm.

My brain is always going a mile a minute, moreso lately with some new responsibilities, and I relish the opportunity to slow down a little and just be.

The rain has a way of getting under my skin and into my blood…I find the rhythm in the rain, and it has a lullaby affect on me.

It is beautiful. It is life. And I relish it.

So don’t be all mopey on such a lovely day.

There’s usually a rainbow after all the rain. God promised.

Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of the risen Christ! ~ Mother Teresa

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what’s a little mud among friends

I took this picture in the chapel, where I promised to bring several intentions this morning. It was dark and I lit the first candle.

I left the house in a giant rainstorm, and for the first hour here in the chapel, I could see the driving rain through the big picture window behind the altar. At  mid-morning the gray sky and some ominous black clouds dimmed the light inside, and muted the green of the trees outside.

As I was praying the sorrowful mysteries, I kept looking over the tree tops to see if the rain would stop so I could catch a glimpse of a rainbow. The rain continued to fall, and I found myself fingering the silver beads to a musical beat from the rain dripping off the eaves.

It was hypnotic and oddly comforting, like a heartbeat providing a steady soundtrack for my prayers. The rain eventually slowed down to a gentle shower, like it had spent itself in a passionate outburst. Having calmed down and recovered, it was getting down to the business of reviving all the parched trees and grass.

I couldn’t wait to go outside later and see how lush and refreshed everything would be. It’s like the earth is renewed and we’re given a new playground to begin again.

Yes, Margaret, I played in the mud, too.

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