Leaving a Trail

Be the change you wish to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi





 

It's a cold, rainy day today. A good day for a hot cup of dark roast coffee at the local Java Joe's. As I left the cafe, this clear impression of a leaf on the wet sidewalk captured my attention. There was no leaf present, but clearly there had been recently.

It made me consider the impressions we all leave in life. The finger prints of our touches and the aroma of our presence linger far beyond an interaction. The words we say and the expressions we share make an impression as real as the color of a leaf on a cold, gray sidewalk. 

What are we impressing upon others? Consider those who are near and dear to us, and even living in the same home or working in the same work space. And how about those we merely see in the passing of our day? Do we consider how we live in such a way to leave a trail of goodness? 

To say we don't impress upon others, is not true. It is not a gift that can be refused. How we impress, now that is where we can choose. 

Living our best lives is recognizing ourselves in light of our relationships and choosing to leave a trail of good. Taking a bit more time to... 

• learn someone's name & use it
• share a smile and friendly greeting
• pause to affirm someone's strengths
• pat a back or give a hug
• give thanks for a helping hand
• be that helping hand
• pick up the piece of trash
• send a card of encouragment 

Impressions leave a mark in other people and in our world. Living in sync is living your best life each day and each moment of the day you are given. It's choosing the trail you will blaze and not waiting for someone else to do it for you. We all have the ability to do good and to make a difference. 

Here's to leaving a trail of goodness!

Do It Again

We enjoyed our first snow of the season over the weekend. There is something so magical and delightful about snow. It brings a quiet wonder as it blankets the earth with an innocent white beauty. It is playful and energizing as the crisp air fills your lungs and crunches beneath your boots. 

In these moments, I am a child all over again. 

Sometimes I wonder if we don't spend all of our younger years growing up only to find ourselves in our older years becoming more like children. It is the gift of life. As we embrace it, we find ourselves living more in sync with the rhythm... dancing a bit more, singing a little louder, and telling stories and laughing "just because". 

Maybe our best days are right here in the sacred ordinary.

"A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, Do it again; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough... It is possible that God says every morning, Do it again, to the sun; and every evening, Do it again, to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we." --G. K. Chesterton

Living your best life is doing it again and again. Loving, breathing, playing, hugging, giving, and remembering such are the moments that fill our hearts. 

As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year... doing it again... may you rejoice as a child. 

Hope is where the heart is

Over twenty years ago, as young 20-somethings, my husband Dale and I interviewed for our first pastoral position as youth pastors in Maysville, Kentucky. 

We flew in for a weekend visit and were hosted in an old farmhouse by a beautiful empty-nester couple in their late 60's. By the end of that short weekend, Emery and Alice and their home had become 'home sweet home' to us. 

Here is where the timeless quality of beautiful hand-crafted furniture, quilts, and dinners met with our youthful energy and visions for the future. Past and future embraced, creating a most amazing present. 

This is hope. A grand expectancy in the good that is and is yet to come. 

The past is the anchor of hope. Tethering us to an eternity of faithfulness and putting us on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. The future is the brilliance of hope. Guiding us into a brighter time and fulfillment of days. The present is where these merge into a vibrant, living hope. A purpose to arise in the morning dawn and to lie down and rest after the day's labor.

Living our best lives is grounded in eternity and lived today. Hope is where the heart is.

Remember your heritage. Envision the future. Live with a grasp on both and you will find yourself walking in a rhythm of grace and hope each day... living your very best life.   

Listen to the Song

Today, I was privileged to spend time with a family in the Critical Care Unit of the hospital. It is an honor and sacred space when you sit with those who pray, wait, and hope. It is the land in between that is tenuous for the soul and tiring on the body, yet precious in the spirit.

It was a gentle reminder of how much words can fail us, as there are no pat answers or easy fixes in such a time.

I realized again how invaluable the gift of presence truly is. Clinging hugs. Wiping tears. Reading scriptures. Listening to music. And then quiet. Even the quiet was a gift.

As I teach my piano students, one of the aspects of music we talk about is the melody and the harmony in a song. The melody is the recognizable part of the song that creates a tune that we sing, hum, or whistle. It is a single note pattern to be played dominantly. The harmony, on the other hand, is a group of notes that is behind, beneath, and around the melody. While played more softly, it provides the texture and mood of the song. 

So often, when I come to critical junctures in life - I look, grasp, and fumble for a melody line. Give me something to be an obvious pattern to follow, something that will provide steadiness to my wobbly emotions and knees. And this is good. 

What I've learned today is that during such a time, just as important is the harmony that plays. Softly and tenderly, almost unrecognizable, yet surrounding us like a warm blanket of reassurance. The harmony of sharing hope and love that reaches beyond knowledge and becomes an experience. 

Living your best life has its good days and some hard ones, too. Listening for the melody will steady your steps, while the harmony carries your spirit. God bless you and those you sit with in such a time as this.






 

A Prayer of Recollection

 

I have been learning a new prayer, one of recollection. It is where you find Jesus at home within your spirit. As real as the air in your lungs and as close as the rhythmic pulse of your heart beat. It is quickly becoming a sacred space. 

Here's a peek of a recent prayer time.

Come, we go to the ocean.  

I take off my backpack of work and responsibility, all the concerns I've been carrying in my mind and heart. 
My shoulders immediately feel the relief and a lingering ache of having carried the weight for too long. 

You gently rub them and kiss the back of my neck. You do not scold me. 

There is only love here.  

I ask you if you want to empty the backpack and talk about it. 

You laugh and say, "That won't be necessary. I was with you in everything you carry. There's nothing more to do with it that concerns me. Let's go play."

I respond to Your outstretched hand and off we run into the water.  

The cool waves washing over me. The salt clinging to my lips. 

I choose not to ask about it but to simply enjoy the moment we share. 

Somehow, in the midst of the play, the weights and entanglements were washed away in the waves.  

I am found, when I am lost in You. 

Living our best lives includes finding a real way to "recollect" ourselves. It is freedom, creativity, and the adventure of being lost and found again. Where do you create this sacred space in your life? Click here for more information on the Recollection Prayer.