the flowers of the field

It started out an ordinary walk on a calm day in the sun. 

The first flowers I picked were like pink forget-me-nots - how apt as I lean into the loss of two dear men - one a spiritual father and wise mentor, the other a brother in Christ, friend and colleague over many many years.

Tomorrow and the next day we'll gather  to farewell them ... and we'll try to paint as full a picture as possible of their lives and influence; we'll try to honour them with our stories, our tears, our thanksgiving and our love. 
And as people of faith, we'll be reinforcing what is already a reality for these two, dear contemplative souls ... death is not the end, but a stepping over a threshold into Light, and a new way of being, beyond our knowing.

This little bunch of flowers, holds bright buttercups with their buttery-chin memories, smelly onion weeds  that rarely find their way into our good books, and dainty daisies full of questions - Love me, love me not?   

For a brief time they bloom and bring the fullness of their uniqueness to add beauty to the earth. 

And so do we.

And that's okay.

Open Day

OPEN DAY 

We walk or drive down the road and see the sign on the new business or the house that's for sale. 
Open days  or open houses are intended to appeal, to engage, to offer a glimpse into another opportunity that we might want to explore ... and they challenge us - do we go in out of sheer nosiness with no intention of buying or getting involved  - or do we pass by and let the next distraction draw us to another thought and another and another until the day dies ... only for the treadmill to continue in our dreams and re-start  with the morning.

But this morning as I sat after quiet prayer, I suddenly realised that today is an 'open day' for me - nothing is planned, nothing 'has to be done', there is no list, there are no deadlines and the realisation was a delight.

For a long time I've only managed life with lists - you may know the feeling  - writing down what has to be done today, transferring leftovers from one day to the next, adding more tasks, wondering how to fit everything in, working late, rising early, getting tired and losing things as concentration and energy wear thin. 

It's not sustainable. 
It has to stop.

Today's 'open day' invites me to be present to what is bubbling up within - the joy in being with family and the joy in writing - and to delight in what is around me : the birdsong at dawn, the sun's warmth, the freshness of the air and the simple things of life that so often go unattended.

No pressure of list-ticking or time-passing. 
No deadlines to meet.

Just letting things unfold. 
For now.

Join me.

Searching

Searching 

Someone a couple of houses away is calling my name, but I'm not lost - I am hanging out the washing, appreciating the blue sky and birdsong after days of rain and wind.

The calling continues for my namesake - a missing puppy - her owner's increasingly anxious voice gradually receding  as her family spreads out and moves down to the stream and into the bush to search for their little brown bundle. I make  a quick prayer for her safe return and find my thoughts moving to the wider world where so many people are 'missing' - wrested from their loved ones and homes through no fault of their own ...  soon my prayers for help are added to those already being offered by countless others - little bursts of love-energy sent across the miles at the speed of light, to make a difference, however small.

I continue to hang out the washing.

Within the hour there is another search : our neighbour's young labrador has gone 'walkabout'  and isn't responding to his impressive,urgent whistle - and so I join in the search and we cover the likely places before the lanky pup is finally found with some new 'friends' a few houses away. We smile with relief!

We all know this lost/search/hopefully find scenario well.
We see it played out on our screens in countless dramas and even programmes searching for lost family members through DNA detective work!
We too have stories to tell of losing someone or something precious  -
We too have stories to tell of searching and hopefully finding.
But for some there is no resolution, only ongoing unknowing and the frustration of living with a question that may never be answered.

What loss or search or finding is part of your life at this present moment?

Are you calling out to someone you love, hoping against hope they will respond and come home?

Having two instances of losing and searching this morning made me think about God's continuous call to us through the natural world, through circumstances, through music and scripture and art and books and people and in structured and unstructured gatherings of faith communities.

God who is Love is committed to reclaiming our attention from the contemporary world's distractions of screens and stress and struggles.
Those arms into which the prodigal son [or daughter] runs in Luke 15 remain wide open to you and to me and a homecoming banquet is guaranteed!

Happy New Year