Shining Spirit

A new decade just around the corner?
You bet.  Hang on.  Life gets more interesting every day.

Through all the mountain tops and the dark valleys of 2019,
it is good to acknowledge some of life’s consistencies.  Like
family, friends, church…there are too many inconsistencies to name,
and inconsistencies are not our focus, anyway.
We are people of the possible.
So I encourage you to take a look at 2019 with a sense of curiosity
and gratitude.  Cherish the good.  Learn from the not-so-good.
But in all things be thankful.
Bring with you into the new year the strengths you developed
in the past months, the hope that sustained you, and
a determination to cause good to happen in the months ahead.
Do these things to honor the One who calls you forward
and for the blessing of your neighbor.

And have a bowl of black-eyed peas on me.

The rosebud has the inherent ability to become a
beautiful rose.  Bud to blossom.
It’s a rose now, but its full development
is yet to come.

So it is with human beings, with me and you.
We have the seed of possibility planted within us by our choice
to follow the Way of Jesus.  The seed awaits the nurturing,
but that is our responsibility.  No one can make the nurturing
decisions for me.  No one can take the practical steps that lead
to the fullness that Jesus promised.  We have received a precious gift,
but now it is time to unwrap it.  Imagine carrying one of your
Christmas gifts around all year without unwrapping it.

We have the gift, the ability, the resources, even the
clear instructions to become “children of God.”
Great joy, insight, wisdom await our efforts
to blossom into the spiritual beauty that
is our inherent nature.
Go for it!

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name,
he gave the power to become children of God.”
John 1:12

“And what does the Lord require of you?
Do justice.
Love kindness.
Walk humbly with God.”
So says the prophet Micah.

The best time to begin is now.
Christmas Eve, 2019

If you look closely you will see a little
“flaw” here and there.

Nothing is perfect.
No one is perfect.
So, don’t try to be.

Just be your beautiful self!

Sometimes the edges of night are indistinct, like a
muffled sound or a photograph slightly
out of focus.  Shadows play tricks.
Things are not exactly as
they seem.

Clarity wears no badge of certainty,
I have been clearly wrong.
Precision can be a guess with a PhD.
But what of love?
“Perfect love casts out fear”
“Love is patient and kind.”
“The greatest of these is
love.”

But love loses something in the transmission
from perfection to people.
I am the problem,
a cracked container.
You, too?

My hope is for my cracks to be mended;
is that what redemption is about?
Is that the Story and the final
solution?
But what if love was never meant to be
stored in perfect containers?
What if I’m supposed to leave a trail of it
behind?
Maybe to be fully human is to have a chip or two,
and a crack here or there
in order for Love to nourish a thirsty creation.
What if redemption is not patching for perfection,
but refilling again and again
for a walk in the world?

Roger Pierce  December 13, 2019

Soaring Spirit
help me today to rise above
all pettiness and hurtful words.
May my motives be honorable,
my actions consistent with what I say.
May I be aware of comfort needed
and then provide it,
sensitive to my neighbor’s need
and respond with helpful hands
and a willing spirit.
May I forgive as I am forgiven,
love as I am loved.
Amen