“Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”—Albert Einstein
This has indeed been an unusual and difficult trip. There has been a very significant change in my dad. The stories are still repeated and mixed up but now there are also long periods of silence. The journey through the Valley of Dementia is difficult. Yet in this difficult journey we are not alone. The caregivers and employees at his Assisted Living love him dearly as do his friends from the church and community.
As challenging as this journey is, we have felt the continued love and support of so many, love and support from places we hadn’t considered. The waitress who knows us , loves us, and has served us so many meals and drinks over these past seven months. Friends who will drive an hour to simply share a meal and listen to us talk. These are the unexpected blessings of life.
In his book, Thoughts in Solitude, Thomas Merton’s prayer of unknowing speaks to these times in our own lives.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
Denise and I are so thankful for the many gifts and expressions of love shared with us and with my dad.
And we trust that Godde will lead us along the way no matter how lost we may feel.
It seems crucial that you realize deeply that your worth and value does not depend on anyone else. You have to claim your own inner truth. You are a person worth being loved and called to give love, not because anyone says so . . . but because you are created out of love and live in the embrace of a God who didn’t hesitate to send his only son to die for us. . . . Your being good and worthy of love does not depend on any human being. You have to keep saying to yourself: “I am being loved by an unconditional, unlimited love and that love allows me to be a free person, center of my own actions and decisions.” The more you can come to realize this, the more you will be able to forgive those who have hurt you and love them in their brokenness. Without a deep feeling of self-respect, you cannot forgive and will always feel anger, resentment, and revenge. The greatest human act is forgiveness: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” Forgiveness stands in the center of God’s love for us and also in the center of our love for each other. Loving one another means forgiving one another over and over again.
Quote courtesy of The Henri Nouwen Society
Red as a carnation. This flower, this light, this moment, this silence = Dominus est, eternity! Best because the flower is itself and the light is itself and the silence is itself and I am myself—all, perhaps, an illusion, but no matter, for illusion is nevertheless the shadow of reality and reality is the grace that underlies these lights, these colors, and this silence. February 4, 1958 (A Search for Solitude: Pursuing the Monk’s True Life, The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 3: 1952-1960)
Thank you, dear Brother for this reflection on the flowers that were on the altar in 1958. To slow down and simply enjoy such a moment as this… to enjoy the simple beauty and wonder of God’s creative presence… that is part of our hope for Sabbath rest ♥️♥️
Wise words of compassion from my friend Jake Owensby!
Wisdom is the art of navigating messy places.
So whether we are rich or poor, weeping or letting the good times roll, we need wisdom. Life inevitably gets messy. And wisdom is the art of navigating messy places. Read further at:
Navigating Life’s Messy Places
Verse of the day
An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies.
– Proverbs 12:17 (NIV)
Voice of the day
[W]hen you study history, you must ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too.
– Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing (2016)
Prayer of the day
May we condemn false witnesses and easy answers. May we tell honest histories.
“When we are able to fully release our need to control the outcome, thresholds become rich and graced places of transformation.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
Where do you need to release your need to control the outcome?
A self-study online companion retreat to this book is available>>
A friend of ours said today in an email “May the Schedule Demon not find you for the entire trip.” Denise and I have felt a lightness of spirit and absolutely no fear as we began this journey of refreshment and renewal.
For decades I have been scheduled and over scheduled in my own life. In the military my schedule was, pardon the pun, quite regimented. Meetings, planning and preparation for contingency operations, and other functions was a part of the daily routine. Worship and program planning were also a big part of that phase of my life. Of course the schedule would go “out the window” if I was called to respond to plane crashes, suicides, domestic disturbance calls, and calls to go to the jail or hospitals for emergency ministry.
In the church, people would often ask how I scheduled my days. At that point, I would chuckle and tell them this joke which was more truth than joke. Want to make God laugh? Tell Her your plans! Flexibility was and is crucial to daily ministry whilst still keeping that schedule going.
Now, the schedule is this: live in the present moment. Reflect and act instead of the typical instantaneous reflex reaction to whatever is before me. When I read the following portion of Thomas Merton’s journal entry on February 24, 1966 it hit close to home.
I need perhaps to be less preoccupied with them (his own spiritual preoccupations) to show that one can be free of them, and go one’s own way in peace. But there is inculcated in us such a fear of being out of everything, out of touch, left behind. This fear is a form of tyranny, a law—and one is faced with a choice between this law and true grace, hidden, paradoxical, but free. February 24, 1966, Learning to Love: The Journals of Thomas Merton (vol six, 1966-1967)
The lyrics from the song, “Day by Day“ from the musical Godspell came to my mind and perhaps this is where we find the hidden, paradoxical, but free grace Merton desired.
Day by day
Day by day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day Day by Day
Dear reader, may you find the opportunity to break free of scheduling constraints, if even for a few minutes, to be present and listen to the unforced rhythms of grace. (Matthew 11:28, The Message translation Bible Gateway)
“Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous or honest.”—Maya Angelou
Verse of the day
God looked at all of this creation, and proclaimed that this was good—very good.
– Genesis 1:31 (The Inclusive Bible)
Voice of the day
I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way.
– Alice Walker, The World Has Changed (2010)
Prayer of the day
Let us celebrate the divinity that you designed in each of us. May we marvel at our ways.
