Don't Pee on the Bee

Friends and Prophets

Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things,
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets.

~Wisdom 7:27

God Bless America!

 

I'm so surprised by how I felt today.  I knew 9/11 was coming, but I didn't expect to feel so emotional about it!  I cried at the end of church when we sang America the Beautiful.  I think I would have been OK until I looked at the fireman who had come to church in his dress blues.  (After church, he said that he had been trying to organize a group of firemen to come in their full gear.  Now that would have completely done me in!!!)  Then, since it is the first Sunday of football (!), I spent the day watching the games and managed to cry during each one of the 9/11 memorial ceremonies that they had.  And they were all essentially the same!  My husband just shook his head, but I am fairly certain that his eyes were a bit bleary when a little boy started talking about being born a month after his dad died!!!

Knowing

 
Lord, that I may know myself, in order to know Thee.
~St. Augustine

Stand Still

 
Stand still.
The trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost.
Wherever you are is called Here.

~David Wagoner, poet

The Eagle

 

Praise the Lord, O my soul,
he satisfies your desires with good things
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

~Psalms 103:5

 

So usually I don't like to post my thoughts on a Sunday Spiritual post, but tonight I have simply got to do so.

We were actually in Washington on vacation last week--which you'll hear more about later!  And by Wednesday, we hadn't seen a bald eagle yet, and I was feeling a bit disappointed.  I was also in a terrible, horrible, rotten, no good mood that day--just ask my kids, my husband and my mother!  As we were driving back towards the ferry, I said how I was disappointed that we hadn't seen a bald eagle yet.  And I probably said it with the intention of having a little pity party--make that a rockin', out of control pity party!--in my head!

A few miles down the road, J.R. starts slowing down the car--which adds to my annoyance with the world--and he is looking at a bird flying parallel with the car about 100 yards away.  Soon he slows even more, and I lean forward to see what the heck is so spectacular that he really needs to slow down the car when I just really wish that he would step on the gas and get us to the ferry.   Suddenly the bird turns and flies right in front of the car.  By now we have practically stopped.   We all look at this beautiful bald eagle fly in front of the car and across the road.  We were all somewhat speechless.  Well, as speechless as a 4 and 6 year old can possibly be!

I just felt the presence of the Spirit at that moment, and I really felt like I was getting a message to 1) get over myself, and 2) that if you ask, you will receive.  It was so profound.  Unfortunately, my evil, devil bad mood continued to pee on my parade, but I was about as moved as I could possibly be at that moment.

Fast forward to tonight when we are telling my visiting in-laws more stories about our trip, and the eagle story comes up.  A few minutes later, as I am walking down the hallway, my mother-in-law comes out of her room and says, "I want to show you something."  She hands me a packet of note cards with a soaring eagle on the front along with the quote from above.  She said, "I bought these for you and was going to leave them for you on your desk when we left."

Talk about feeling the Spirit!

True Silence

 
True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.  ~William Penn

Spirit

 
The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech.  He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills.
~Romans 8:26-27

I really was struck by this passage as I have really been thinking about prayer a lot lately . . . and often feel like I don't "do it right."  (Therapy, anyone?)  But I love the image of the Spirit groaning for us when words are not there, and that God knows what our prayers our through the help of the Spirit and the saints.

Whatever your image of Spirit is, and however you believe in saints or ancestors, I hope that this passage gives you some comfort if you need it.