Trials...

"My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-4


The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this: Irritations get into his shell. He does not like them. But when he cannot get rid of them, he uses the irritation to do the loveliest thing an oyster ever has a chance to do. If there are irritations in our lives today, there is only one prescription: make a pearl.

Dear God, show me how to let every event of my life be a means of growth- even if its simply the progress of patience and perseverance within me.

"We are afflicted in every way,but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed... So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen..." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18

Joy through Loving

"What does love look like? It has the hands to help others . It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has the eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear sighs and sorrows. That is what love looks like." St. Augustine 

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
-1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Search for Peace

"This stillness feels like your presence, dear Lord. This hum in the air, your gentle breath. This sunlight, your purifying touch. And this peace- the kind only you can give - reaches far past my understanding." 

King Solomon, the teacher, had everything. However, he discovered a soulful meaninglessness behind every new acquisition. Focusing on one "thing" at a time, as he was doing, never brings lasting satisfaction. There is always the eventual letdown, when the new becomes the old. Perhaps this desire for meaning, combined with its absence among the things of earth, means it must be found somewhere else. This was Solomon's ultimate conclusion, one that leads beyond the merely material. 

"May I remember today that ultimate meaning in life can only come from the Ultimate Being."

Trees and Seeds

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." Matthew 13:31-32


In a field of dark earth, a humble hand plants a mustard seed. Tiny, it seems of little worth,sown in spring; a deliberate deed performed from the heart -with Heavenly elements to feed, and faith no small part. The planter feels this need. So small, but strength is inside. Green shoots soon start- leaves broaden, reach high. Yellow flowers unfold, now living art. Support from spreading roots underground- steady breezes; branches arch, like the reed- hidden strength is found. Weathering strife, time builds bark. The Creator knows this divine art. For he sees an autumn tree first, where once only a tiny seed laid stark. With faith, trees will cover the earth.