Hush and Be Still

I was feeling sad as a retiree shared his panic followed by an intense sense of dread that he would not have enough money for his spouse and children. No doubt individuals and families are suffering due to our national economy. It would be easy to get lost in the mindset of doom. Let's not.

Whenever we feel overwhelmed, it is so hard to sit still. It’s even a chore just to close your eyes for a few moments and gently let the world disappear to regain your balance. Shutting your eyes (never during driving) is a way of regaining health to your nervous system. In closing our eyes, we can regain our balance and proper focus.

Despite the economy and doom in the daily news, we need to learn to “be still.” So many struggles, so many battles because we are always on the go. And even when we have our body "sitting still", it seems that our minds keep..."going."

God prays for us as we reflect: "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:107).

When should we pray like this? It is hard to be still especially when everything and everyone is moving with such speed. But there are so many benefits in learning to “being still.” One is that we can “know God.”

Let me illustrate with an experience we share in our travels. We are visiting a famous aquarium or museum. There are lots of informational signs regarding the fish and the artwork. As you browse through the different galleries with your rented “hearing wand” you learn the stories about the fish or artists. But we still hastened pass so many of the exhibits. Even when we did stop to look for a nano-second, we were in a hurry. So, consequently, we were never still enough to know about the jellyfish, the horses or the works of art.

But if they are to know the artist, we must "be still" and spend time. Then we will know about the author as we gaze quietly at a cloud, a branch, and a wave of the sea or a ray of the drifting moon. In other words, "Be still and know the artist."

Find some solitude in your life. This can be challenging if you are at work, or at home with kids. But we all need some private time to let the nervous system regenerate. As little children, we might have hidden in the closet either playing “hide go seek” or a way to get away from it all. This tiny single room (a nun's closet, quite literally) became our sanctuary from the stresses of a little kid’s world. Inside we used our imagination not to feel scared but to find calm. Be creative. Find your space. Any way you can.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they be motivated to just "hush" and "be still" and let you love them and minister to them. Help us to surrender these feelings of dread and doom and let them be still in their “nun’s closet”....let the Lord come in.

Soaring Feathers

It’s 4 am in the morning and I am driving to Dansville, New York on Labor Day to attend the annual hot air balloon festival. The pilots and crew chiefs are called to attend their morning briefing. Sunrise at 6:36 shows the sky to be clear except for some early morning fog descending along the valley. There would be a 20-minute delay to reassess the weather. In the crowd, I notice a photographer holding a telephoto lens. I scoot over and ask him what settings he plans to use on his digital to shoot the hot air balloons. In my practice, I have discovered that “men like to talk about their gadgets.”

A distinguished firefighter for over 30 years working at Kodak Park, this “gentle-man” retired and transferred his life saving skills into the realm of capturing the beauty of nature. Comparing notes about our experiences “in the wild,” we heard the announcement that the balloon launch would be canceled. The fog was too much a danger. My kind mentor noted that two parks were near the Dansville airfield. We “hooked up” and drove to Stoneybrook and later to Letchworth Park.

Sometimes broken plans lead us in directions we could never have imagined. Many times, we have made plans in our life about a career, a relationship, our vacation, or retirement and plans get cancelled due to poor weather, poor health or maybe a poor attitude.

Jesus taught a message that was a stumbling block for his disciples. He announced that his life would be “canceled.” He would have to suffer, die and rise from the dead. Personally, we would prefer to skip the suffering and save ourselves, our children, our neighbor from any pain. Yet despite, our humanity, I believe we are most divine when we surrender our need for survival and put our life on the line.

Thanking this retired firefighter for saving a broken morning, he was shooting the middle falls at Letchworth as I drove away. However, while driving out of park, I noticed a flock of turkey vultures gathered on a hilltop. One by one they took off to soar up into the thermals. So instead of taking images of slick hot air balloons, let me share with you a divine moment as these birds soared into my viewfinder with the clouds of glory as their backdrop.

The Lord prays for us as we reflect “Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.” (Psalm 20:7).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine friends whose saving hands have reached out to someone struggling in their moments of suffering. Bless our firefighters and all our emergency professionals who daily risk their lives to save others from darkness and fear.

Moment of Grace

What is it that you don’t want to tell the Lord? Perhaps it was a moment when you were careless and hurt your friend’s feeling with a nasty remark. Worse, maybe it was time when you were out having fun and you found yourself pregnant. How many women have felt so alone and ashamed that they would never run to their parents with this news. Instead, they make a decision in seclusion that resulted in a lifetime of regret and shame. In those lonely moments in which you are plagued by your memories when you were not perfect that I would ask you to humbly look at the cross and say to yourself “ I believe.”

Many times when we pray, we expect God to zap us with what we ask for. Zap and we are perfect, zap and he makes us patient, zap and we given courage, zap and we are out of debt, zap and our broken relationships are fixed, or zap and we are forgiven. Rather, I like to think of God as someone who gives us the opportunity to be patient, to be kind, to forgive and be forgiven.

Despite what we think was our worse moment, our worse failure at being perfect, our worse sin that we think keeps us away from the immeasurable mercy of God, it is really anger that holds us back from the mercy of God that will make us feel whole again.

If you want to experience peace in your life after you list all the dumb, foolish and yes even shameful deeds and words you have committed, then I urge you to come away from this fear and say to yourself: “I forgive myself despite… and name your sin.” Then after you say this a dozen or more times, step two is simply: “I forgive the one who has hurt me…”

Never doubt the power of God’s willingness to free you from your shame, your sin and your worse nightmares. Remember the last words Our Lord spoke from the cross: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” It is a “moment of grace” to surrender your sins to God and let go of the shame and fear that shadows your life. If no human words can bring relief from your suffering, then I would ask that you simply say to yourself inside your soul “Believe” and allow His healing presence to caress your troubled soul with His divine peace.

The Lord prays for us as we reflect: “The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:9).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine friends who continue to suffer daily from the memories that they have failed to live up to their expectations. Give us the humility and strength to understand that You died on the cross to show your immeasurable love that brings only divine mercy and inner peace.

A Little More Sonshine

Michael is a master floral designer, and he has the wonderful talent of taking a bunch of flowers and arranging them into a work of art. Many years ago, I wandered into his flower shop and asked if he could teach me how to arrange flowers. Despite my initial feeble efforts, I was soon making Valentine gifts of floral bouquets for the retired Sisters of Mercy. Now, this respected mentor was reviewing my photo portfolio to market to the worldwide net. As he sat in front of the computer scrutinizing hundreds of images, he was designing in his mind a unique approach to display the photo gallery.

Instead of listing holidays or seasons of the years, the search became a journey into capturing scenes that portrayed the divine seeds of celebration and healing. His imagination focused on looking for images that portrayed the spirit of joy and thanksgiving. As I moved the cursor from one file to another, we had no difficulty downloading images that illustrated images of healing and gratitude. However, our search started to crawl for photos that reflected a sensed of joy and happiness. I wished that I had taken more baby pictures, birthday parties, weddings, or children blowing soap bubbles. However my moments of grace were found in enchanted forests with babbling creeks, foggy mornings on a bay, mountain valleys, but where was the sunshine?

I have to admit that I felt uncomfortable to think that after a decade of photography, most of my images would best be labeled as “somber and serene.” Ministry had focused on helping folks cope with their trials and difficulties. The unconscious impact on our personality might be the tendency to see only the darkness. Nothing wrong in being serious and somber, but maybe this insight meant that I needed to make more room in my life for a little more joy. It was time to look for rainbows and ice creme sundaes, glory rays and hot air balloons. In case you forgot despite the stresses of everyday life, God wants us all to be as happy as this horse photo that needs a good caption to go along with his grin. Submit your suggestions on-line and I'll post for your enjoyment.

God prays for us as we reflect: “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” (Psalm 30:11).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends whose heavy crosses have made them serious and somber. Help us to find the joy in our everyday lives. May your Spirit inspire in us to be more mindful of the joy that bathes our life and soul with Your divine happiness.