OTHER SELF

Two faces stand before the door,

                                        Naked and vulnerable.

They plead, first softly,   than a scream.

To be admitted and to admit.

Born into a world
                                that told me who to be.
Born into a world
                                 that kept me locked inside.
I always felt the shadow,
                                    the warm breath on my neck
invisible but ever present, ever near.

But still I kept him hidden,
                                       in the billows of my heart.


So easy to hide.............that other self.

Just close my eyes and be what they expect.


But......now I know each moment hidden in the fog.

will hide the beauty that's within.

                                 two faces escapes into the night.

Come out true self, come out and join the journey.

Believe that those who meet you first,

will bring you home to stay,

I love you dear self,

I love you and I will protect.

A WALK INTO THE WOODS

Standing in the middle of the Forest,

Feet firmly planted on the crisp and
                         crunchy pathway that leads home.

The last leaf is layered like a carpet beneath

the tall oak tree.

Bowing to it's  majesty and grandeur.

Remembering lush green days of springtime,

 limbs flit and fluttering in the early winter breeze.

Remembering the tapestry of color

weaving its heart through the landscape.

So rich in hue that only God's

palette could hold

                            the rich and
regal spectrum we call Fall.

I look up, up up up to the one lone

leaf hanging on,

                              not quite ready to
give into the winter winds.

With arms stretched up to heaven,

the tall oak trees point to God
                         pointing back to them.

Listen!   Listen!

In the silence of the forest I hear
                         God's symphony
                                      sounding
the song of nature.

I hear the thump  thump  thump
             of a loving heart .
                                        feeling..
Feeling the presence of God.

The presents of God,
       wrapped in brightly colored
ribbons ....
Ready to be unwrapped.

The hymn is clear and simple,
    God is in this moment and
this moment is in God.

A walk into the woods is a walk

into God's sanctuary.

The sanctuary that God calls home.

THE PRICE OF LOVE

As legacy's go, they will live on to be her legacy.

                                                   A gift left to the world.

An inheritance worth more than gold and jewels.

Each benefactor will testify, with their life and courage,

                                             to the woman  they called Mom.

Each will stand tall and give support to me

and each other,

                         because that is who we are.

I can not promise that I will ever quit

                                    grieving for the love of my life.

But the day will come when I will hear her small voice

insisting that I......

                                 get on with it.

Until than I will unfold the memories

and celebrate the living and loving what we shared.

I will try to give back the courage and

                             the loving heart that filled her breast

and surrounded her life and spilled over into mine

                                              and to those who knew her.

Grief never ends...but changes over time.

Grief is a passage,

                            not a place to live.

Grief is not a sign of weakness,

                                                  not a lack of faith.

Grief is the price of love.

It Is Not I

It is not but God, the Spirit

                                              bellowing through

me.

    pushing,                                      tossing,

proding.

Un relentless.

Gentle as a whisper on a child's cheek

Awesome as a windmill drawing water from the

dirt.

Lifting.                      sailing

Carried toward a new and glorious place and

time.

                                       I must bow to His call..

even for a time.

A sacred spear of life in total turmoil with itself...

         needs a carver to chisel down the layers

                                                   of grief and misunderstandings.

         Can I be the chisel or am I that which is to be

                                                                                  chiseled?

Crack me open.......

          Help me  to find the perfect  peace that comes from

                                                                                            Knowing God.

Fill me with passion and presence

              so I overflow with

                                           a need to embrace the Spirit.

                                                       and spill that embrace into the world.

Three Angels stand at the door...

     Hope in a place that is hopeless.

           Hunger in a world that is filled.

                 Love that joins hands

                                                   across the borders.

I embrace....I become..
                               .I am the tear on God's dear cheek.

I have no choice but to listen....
                                                   .I am because God is.

Love Comes When Love Comes

In a world so big and a life so short,
                                                     Love comes.
Sometimes with careful calculations.
Sometimes with a sudden stroke of God's hand.
It fills you with Holy Presence and
it lifts you to a place filled with clouds and clarity.
Butterflies and symphonies bubble up
                        until you think you can hold no more.
Reason and focus seem to float away
             only to return to guide you unto
a Being .......that soon blends in one accord.
When all else fails,    love fills my heart.
                      God knows what God knows.
                                       Love comes when love comes.

One Holy love is more than we deserve...
           yet second chances come and fill the soul again.

How can you find space to hold her love
            in a heart so full and filled with past love.
How can she stand next to you,
            without standing in the shadows of love past.

Hearts are made to beat and fill,
              filling you with life and love,
never overflowing ....always growing..
⁰ò
Second chance love stands tall and casts her own shadows.
A shadow not to block the past love but to point to future love
and fulfill a promise.
A promise .... to keep on.
                                      To keep on going.
                                                       To keep on going on.
and to honor the Life Love with a life worth living,

God calls you to love,
             each moment precious and never promised.
Embrace love,
                     Embrace life
                                         Embrace loving.
                           because love comes
                                                             when love comes.
                                  and second chance love is a gift from God.