Autumn: "Letting Go of Something Beautiful"
Thank God for another beautiful autumn day! I was at a meeting with my sisters this last weekend and the prayer was on giving thanks for the fall. As we were sharing our personal reflections, one sister shared something that really touched me. She said, “Autumn to me is “letting go of something beautiful” as the trees let go of the beautiful leaves and ready their boughs for the green of spring, they know that letting go of one good only brings another.”
I never thought of that before...and began to think of all the “good and beautiful” things in my life I have been called to let go of, not understanding why, but truly as I did let go and waited, indeed, something beautiful did follow!
So if you have “something beautiful” in your life that you are now being called to let go of, come on in and share your experience...and then go out under a tree and look for a sprig of green and call it yours...and wait for the new life within you to blossom. With Prayer and Love, your justbebecky :)
posted by Pia's Pals at 1:59 PM
11 Comments:
you have a very nice blog. I truly enjoyed reading it.
happy thanksgiving...
Thank you, Buckeye! Hope to get to your site soon! Peace in these beautiful autumn days:) your justbebecky
Dear incandescence, what a great word! You must shine brightly with the love, passion and glow of God with such a pin name:) Thank you for coming on!
I love that Longfellow poem, I remember it as a teen, when churches held that mystery of God where you could touch, taste, feel, hear, see and sense God all around and within you!
I have a feeling that you, incandescence, may be one of those strong women who are a prophet and seer of God. One who DID enter the cathedral with a ferocity and passion to my mother-love...but AS mother. I pray that you feel the tender love of this mother-love now in the deep "roar of your heart".
I love your quote and actually have heard it quite often in my Love journey with God. I am not sure of the author, but would guess, Julian of Norwich, who was the first to address God as mother. It just sounds like her. You may do some "googling" and see what you find.
As far as what I think (though I am more of a feeler:) of "God loves us as gently as a mother, and as
intimately as a lover', is that mother and lover are of the same word:) To be mother is to be a lover, to be a lover is to be a mother...in the deepest meaning of what love is...unconditional! I love the mother image of God! It speaks to me of one who nurtures, cares deeply, compassionately, intimately for me. I wrote a song called "Mother God" which says it all for me. I do need to get my CD's up and running on line...one day!
Anyway, I would love to hear more thoughts from others on this great quote:) Thanks again, incandescence! Peace and Joy, your justbebecky :)
What a beautiful morning! I love that early air, where you "breathe God" and you can see your breath before...like seeing God all around you:)
It is my day off so it is nice to just "hang out" with nothing to do. I like to start everyday that way, just see what unfolds and to be more present to the moment. There is such a grace in living in that way.
Hope all will feel the blessings of God all around them today! Always feel free to come on in and let me know how you are doing or what you think about the quote incandescence shared "God loves us as gently as a mother,and as intmatley as a lover." I invite you, incandescence to share your thoughts on it as it must be close to your heart:)
I invite all to come on in and share YOUR favorite quote that touches your life deeply and let us know why. I will be thinking of one myself:)
With Peace and Love, your justbebecky
Hi Incansdescence, glad to have you on again:) I am intrigued with your quote...God says "I will give you My grace if you will assent with your own will." I would love to hear how you interpret it.
God's peace to all! And I will have my quote soon, your justbebecky :)
Thank you, Incandescence, for YOUR grace-filled words! You spoke all that I was wondering, especially the part, does God's grace-giving depend on my grace-receiving?
I guess I feel that at ALL times God's grace is going in us and all around us. I liken it, as I shared before, to my breath and the air all around.
For God to have no favorites, ALL peoples and things must have full an abundant access to God's grace at all times...at no cost, no action earned on my part, no special worthiness I log in, or any state in life I may find myself...that is why breath works well for me because that is the ONE thing we all have in common, no matter our life circumstances.
With all that said, just as it is my choice to breathe in the next breath, I can only deduct that all is left is left up to us...to use the grace that has already been given! It is not going anywhere if I do not use it, it just waits, as does my next breath does for me to breathe.
I do believe the ability to "use this grace" that is so given every moment of my life, can be so impaired by human limitation, wounding or just the ordinary daily challenges that keep me unfocused... a chosen busyness, consumerism, seeking an outer identity rather than accepting my true inner one, not discovering or uncovering my talents and gifts etc.
Yet, I wonder, like you, incandescence, what "stirs" within me that finally breaks through to me? Maybe that is the the on-going active grace that is within me at all times that I finally decide to use! Broken open by a word spoken, a trust given, a host received, a smile taken, a sunset enjoyed, forgiveness accepted, a love found...
I do believe our openness and free will have an incredible role to play here...I can take a short breath in or a long, deep one...we know which more benefits the body, would not the same more greatly benefit the soul?
And if I choose not to breathe at all or use the grace given...then I go to heaven early, and I see my Jesus and next to him are a huge pile of presents to my surprise and I say who are all those for?!!! And he says, oh, those are yours, I gave all these gifts to you through your lifetime and I guess you just didn't get a chance to open them, they are still yours to open...and eternity begins:) Who leads us to believe that all the growing is done here! (Now we are in a whole other realm of light, but I feel okay about that, because its FULLY God's realm and not ours...yet!:)
Just a few mid-day wonderings:) God's special love breathe within you, and a very blessed Our Lady of Guadalupe to all (now this holy woman can breathe!) Always, your justbebecky :)
Good day today! Had a few people for spiritual direction which always blesses my own spiritual life!
Gave a presentation on, "How to Keep Christ in your families Christmas" to our MOMS group. Naming the stresses and the hopes desired brought about a whole new opening that "life is a choice"...and so is how one "does" Christmas! A lot of good ideas and new ways to do things. It was exciting to see :)
We were reminded, too, that Christmas is also the celebration of mothers. God chose to be birthed into this world through a woman. I wish our Mother Church would make that connection more often for our mothers. God could have chosen to descend from the heavens just as he ascended into the heavens. But, instead God chose to come through a mom...let us reverence our mothers this season as being such wonderful God bearers in our own lives!
Then, I went to our CCD Christmas Prayer service which was great! Those children have such a wonderful way they do God in the world! We can learn a lot from them:)
Had a nice evening prayer with my sisters and a great dinner! I am so thankful for them. Hope everyone is having a peace filled and restful Advent evening:) Always, your justbebecky
Beautiful day to all! Good to hear from you, Incandescence, and your good questions on Spiritual Direction. I will try to answer each of your questions as best as I can (not being in person, which is easier)
“You say spiritual direction blesses you. That must be wonderful. Can you help me understand more of what a S. Directors role is?” A SD is one who simply companions you on your spiritual journey. My best personal image is one of a midwife who helps you birth your God into the world in your own unique way:) The major role of the SD is listening. Listening to your words and your silences. The SD can help you make connections that thread your life together as one beautiful tapestry. The SD also can ask questions that help the directee probe deeper into their day to day God experiences and see what pearls that may have passed over or rejoice with the ones found.
”I was wondering if you could be more specific on what those blessings are like for you.” To listen to another deeply share their personal spiritual journey is sacred ground, where all are blessed who listen. And I would add, all the earth is raised higher when words of such vulnerable love are spoken out loud.
“Do you think that all who desire should seek it?” Yes, I do. There must be a deeper desire within that is drawing you to come closer to your God and this is one way for that to happen.
”...but I have some reservations. (mostly scared feelings)” That is natural, for when we are sharing something so deep and vulnerable, we wonder how it is going to be received or perceived. But, when you find the right director... it is heaven!
“Can you share some of your feelings on how to find a director?” My personal feelings is that I would want a personal recommendation or it is someone I may “know” about. Of course, parishes and retreat centers sometimes can offer you a name, but I know, too, I would want to know the “training” the person has received as well. (I attended a 3 year program to receive my SD training.)
“Should it be someone who you know?” I think it is best if you may “know of them” but not as a personal friend.
“Or, do you think it is easier when you don’t have a personal relationship with the person you are seeking direction from?” Again, you would want to “have a sense of them” but not as “friend”. I may interject here that your relationship with your directee is one unlike your friends or anyone. The directee is coming to speak of what is closest to their hearts with their God, that is a very vulnerable and treasured space you are entering with this person. It is sacred and holy ground very much honored by the director. A real closeness develops between director and directee. One could call it a spiritual friendship in some ways.
“As a director, have you ever sought out people who don’t quite know what to do or how to ask? Or do you think that you shouldn’t offer the help unless “they” ask? I have gently offered the idea to some and think that’s okay, and then I let them discern their next steps. “Have you ever found yourself having to tell someone, “Hey, you need direction”! No, not that directly:)
“Do you think people can get spiritual direction they need through prayer, self-meditation and contemplation, or do you think that verbal connection helps people better?” Of course, they can do the former, as God is the ultimate Director and that is exactly who the SD and directee are listening for:) Yet, you are right the later of that ’verbal connection’ can be very useful and even powerful in one’s life. I find, too that to have a monthly (which it usually is for one hour) meeting set up with your SD, kind of has a built in “awareness” that you have because you know you will be sharing it. Too, sometimes people can get “off” of their path sometimes left to their own abilities and maybe by some personal limitations.
“As a director yourself, do you find yourself being somewhat directed in conversations each time you meet with someone? Do you find yourself learning from things you "hear" and "take in"?’ Yes, to all the above:) Listening to another is an art of clearing your own way to welcome theirs.
“How to you avoid getting “caught up” in certain conversations that you hear? Can certain situations that are presented, all of a sudden creep up on you, and then you wonder, what do I do now! How do you handle these types of situations?” Yes, all of this happens and that is why I have a SD supervisor who I see regularly and recount (with anonymous names) some ‘troubled spots’ where I did not know what to do, or I began talking too much, or asked a question I was curious about that distracted the directee from their God movement, or where my ‘stuff” got in the way, etc.
“You must have a director for you. How did you choose yours? Was your director recommended to you or did you have a choice on whom to go to?” I have had a SD for 29 years (even B.C. before convent days:). I have had different ones through my life and most of them excellent. I had a few that I just did not “connect” with and I let those go. (That can be kind of a “sticky” situation, but a good director will ease that for you and make it a learning, as well.) In the cases where it worked out well, I knew them in general sense, but enough to know that we would do well together. I had an inner sense of “trust’ and a “liking” towards them. The last one and the one I have presently for 7 years (who by the by is a lay woman, mom) was one of the presenters in my SD classes.
“One last question regarding s. direction, do people come to you thinking and expecting you are the “cure” for all?” Sometimes that may be an unconscious expectation, as many seek SD in time of pending or immediate crisis, which is good. That is usually when there is more openness with the directee to God “breaking though” in their lives. I do believe we open our hearts to let God out, not in:) They soon begin to see though that the journey is theirs to take and you are walking with them as listener, encourager, pray-er, holder.
“I want to know how you feel about your connection with your “Mother-Love”. I really like what you said about God revealing himself through a woman.” I feel wonderful about my Mother God connection! Whereas I do feel the Father God just as valuable and strong in my life, I do relate better to a more feminine way of ‘being’ in the world (as that is who i am:) My name for God is Cosma, which to me, is a wonderful blend of the feminine and masculine of ALL creation! And that is my journey now, to see and experience the fullness of God within and all around me!
Come again, Incandescence! All are welcome to ask any questions they may have and to share their own responses as well! God’s special love be close to you this day, your justbebecky :)
Your welcome, Incandescence! I know you will continue to grow in your spiritual life as your path unfolds. You hold such a loving God.
All is well here! Actually just got back form seeing my spiritual director and as always it was awesome! More and more I see all insights leading to one...and that is that we are all ONE, one with all of creation, each other, all embodying the one God.
I am more conscious now when moving through the day, as I ask the question often...are my thoughts, words, actions creating oneness or supporting the
illusion that we are separate? Does my life reflect the oneness we truly hold or does it hold on to that false notion that we are divided? One would ask, could God ever divide God-self? I think God's response would be, with a smile...why would one even want to do that? :)
WE are one, if we see it or not. WE are one, if we believe it or not. WE are one, if we live it or not. WE are one, always and in all ways and for always! It is such a comforting and free knowing to hold all as one. There reigns all love, peace, joy and hope...indeed, no more fear.
Hope all have a wonderful 4th week of Advent loving! God-is-with-us, ONE in all! Again, welcome to all to come on and ask any questions you may have about "The Life of a Nun" or any other wonderings you may have:)
Always with one love, your justbebecky :)
Had a wonderful weekend! It was the "end of the year" prayer day with my sisters. Every year we gather on an intentional day to give thanks for the year and all that unfolded. I am so thankful for a community of wonderful women to do this with and more so to live the gospel of Jesus together!
Here we are in the 4th week of Advent. I was talking with our staff over our Christmas lunch at my favorite food place as in 'Mexican' :) and as we talked about what we really liked about Christmas (besides first and foremost the coming of the Savior of the world!:) mine was caroling!
Our sisters went last year and it was great fun, and thus I am inspired to go again...so I am going to do an "all call out" for any one interested and just see who we get and go! I love those impromts from the Spirit, those last minute things that require no planning, no fliers, no money, no expectations, no RSVP's, no fuss, no words, everyone knows Silent Night and Jingle Bells, right :)...so I will let you know how it goes!
And I encourage you to do what YOU like best to welcome the light of God into the world, one of the ways I love to bring light into the world is through music...how will you do it? And you can let me know:)
God's peace in your hearts resound throughout the whole world..that's the only way peace will reign, if it reigns first in our own hearts. Love, justbebecky :)
Had a WONDER-FILLED Christmas with my Dominican sisters! I feel so blessed to live the life I live. :)
I am off to Santa Fe, my home town, tomorrow to visit my family for Christmas week and return New Years Eve to celebrate with my sisters the coming in of the new year 2005, SPIRIT ALIVE!!!
I pray all is well with all that may pass this way:) Know that you are in my heart and prayers...as I feel each of us just have to be present to whoever comes our way, for a better world to be had:)
Have a GREAT week of celebration and JOY! Jesus is here! God with us! How can we do otherwise? :)
Always with Love, your justbebecky :)
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