Check out my new 'World Reflections" Section
Interesting stories and anecdotes that reach into insights I have gained abroad.
Healing Grief, On-line Course, by Terry Douglas.
You are invited to participate in an 8-
week, on-line course, entitled
Healing Grief Page that captures a journey of healing following deep loss.
Meditation — November 14, 2018
Posted on Wednesday, November 14th, 2018
Scripture: I shall lead the blind by a road that they do not know, by paths they do not know I shall conduct them. I shall turn the darkness into light before them and the quagmires into solid ground. This I shall do—without fail. Isaiah 42:16
Prayer: I feel blind this morning. Though I woke early, it took some time before I rose and took my daily walk to the beach. I am glad I did so because I viewed high above me cormorants sailing on the stiff wind over a turbulent ocean. They sailed individually—not in pairs, as if this was there time to be separate and alone to be guided by the wind. I too am sailing, though not so high, responding to His guidance in the breeze.
Response: You have ventured onto many roads that you did not know and were conscious that you were being led by His presence. How else would you have experienced the fullness of life and continue to do so? Meeting your spouse by chance—was it chance—is a wonderful example of the intricate and colorful design that you fashioned with her.
Your years have trained you to look for the signs as you did this morning, looking up to catch the cormorants frolicking alone on the sweeping wind. You see aloneness is not all that bad—it defines you and sharpens your senses and contributes to who you are and becoming in the Lord’s grip.
Consider sharing your flying experience with those solitary who are hesitant of getting off the ground in prayer. Discover today and the following how and why you were meant to fly. Praise God!
All for this morning
Meditation — November 12, 2018
Posted on Monday, November 12th, 2018
Scripture: Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful. Let your good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:4
Prayer: The heavy rain has ceased. A certain gray calm has descended upon the scene outside my window. I am especially reflective this morning. Help me, Lord, to be sensitive and responsive to, and prayerful for those who exist in the heavy rain of life.
Response: Interesting that this scripture verse came to you on such a dismal morning. Could it be that the Lord is awakening you to His presence just now? Is not that a special reminder when you are still mourning the loss of a dear friend?
Be joyful! Sweep the gray sky away and listen as if you are sitting with loved ones in a huge concert auditorium awaiting the thunderous opening of a Russian opera, in an intimate conversation with a loved one in a crowded coffee house or walking the beach alone at sunrise reflecting upon the joy of your life experiences.
The Lord is near. He is so near that He hears the very whisper of your heart, and most importantly He responds as you will attest to this as the day unfolds. Praise God!
All for this morning.
Meditation — August 14, 2018
Posted on Tuesday, August 14th, 2018
Scripture: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “In truth I tell you, it is hard for someone rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven.” When the disciples heard this, they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?” they said. Jesus gazed at them, “By human resources,” he told them, “this is impossible; for God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:23-26
Prayer: For God everything is possible—These anointed words mean everything to me. When I have experienced the trials that I thought were insurmountable, it was then that I turned to almost voiceless prayer because I did not have the words to describe my torment. Yet, the Lord heard the voiceless whisper and responded to revive and heal my spirit.
Response: As you have aged, your prayer has become ever more youthful in that you approach the Father with an innocence and confidence that might have been absent when you were biologically youthful. Reflect on your recent prayers—some that words could not describe—and the results that have occurred to your amazement.
It is as if you were lost driving in an unfamiliar area, your GPS was down, and you were led to a location that was even more direct than you intended. Sometimes, it can be a call from a loved one that you had not expected, a solution to a financial challenge, a breakthrough in a relationship, a resolve that you did not think yourself able, or simply a conversation that arises with a stranger.
When next disturbed by circumstances that arise in your life, repeat the words that Matthew captures for you this day—for God everything is possible. Praise God!
All for this morning.
Meditation — August 13, 2018
Posted on Tuesday, August 14th, 2018
Reading: . . . the more we ‘think’ about God, picture him, or stir up our imagination for autonomous visions of him, the less we can experience him. This is not to denigrate theology, philosophy or art. But these three fruits of our minds and hearts have value for ultimate meaning only so far as they clarify, encourage, or purify our journey to the frontiers of the limited human consciousness. On the frontier, we are met by a guide, who is unlimited consciousness, the Person of Jesus Christ. (from In The Stillness Dancing, The Life of Father John Main, p. 84-85)
Prayer: Is it the silence of this morning, the walk without words to the beach, the daily offering, the reading of scripture, or my prayer list that creates in me a solitude that is immeasurable that I wish to share?
Response: Have you ever considered that often the reading to which you are directed is a sign of the Lord’s grace in action? It is not limited to reading but is discovered in the friends, loved ones, and strangers that you encounter each day. They hold an invisible banner that invites the listener to which you respond.
Your journey of so many years is refined each day, and you would hardly recognize the fellow who first responded in your youth and later. Your hearing and listening has actually improved, influenced by those solitary walks and prayers for understanding and inspiration when circumstances seemed overwhelming.
You have never failed to meet, in those circumstances, the guide of unlimited consciousness, in the Person of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord!
All for this morning.
Meditation — August 12, 2018
Posted on Sunday, August 12th, 2018
Scripture: “This is the bread which has come down from heaven; it is not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who easts this bread will live forever.” John 6:58
Prayer: I just returned from an early mass that was filled with young parents and their children—one of whom turned and waved shyly to me—two rows behind, old couples with their aches, and young men and ladies comprehending together the mystery before them.
Response: The mystery before them—has touched you from your earliest days. Serving mass in a quiet basement chapel where only the sound of a single bell chimed the elevation of the host and wine. Perhaps, it was during that time when you feasted alone on the miracle before you, and still do so to this day.
The same sense of awe captures you sitting in a quiet chapel alone in prayer, or on a walk in a forest whispering prayers, or sitting at a table jotting down the deepest sentiments of your heart.
You have been drawn close since you were just a young boy, to a father separated from your family in a war-ravaged area, to now—an older version of yourself, alone and suppressing any thought of your aging frame, but more than hesitant to race down the beach at dawn. There you are still waiting patiently at the alter to receive the body and blood of Jesus. Praise God!
All for this morning.
