God is the Gentle Rain falling on my Soul

I spent last Monday in silence at the Ruah Spirituality Center of the Villa de Matel here in Houston.  This monthly day of silence is a regular spiritual discipline in my Rhythm and Rule of Life and it keeps my soul breathing.


I sat in my little room gazing out the window, watching the rain fall steadily upon the trees ... all day long, the constant sound of the rain wrapped me a deep sense of the holiness of nature.  Julian of Norwich says, "Nothing less than God can satisfy."  I am realizing that my deepest longing these days is to "be" as satisfied as the trees who stand with their face toward the rain falling from the sky ... greening in the process.  


I meditated on this line from Psalm 62:1a, "My soul finds rest in God alone."  Julian says, "God is our Full Rest."   Full Rest ... always I find that when I sink deeply into God my Full Rest, I sleep for a time in the safety of the silence with no one to disturb ... my "smart" phone tucked away so it cannot tempt me to check on the world.


In the morning, I took up my journal and wrote these first 3 lines ... fell into a light sleep and when I woke in the afternoon I wrote the next 3 lines ...


God is the gentle rain falling on my soul


keeping my soul alive


bringing life to the world




God is the gentle rain falling on my soul


drenching my soul with love


flooding the world with Presence




As I reflect on these words that emerged from deep within myself, I realize how "parched" my soul had been when I arrived to sit in the silence ... as the day unfolded my soul drank deeply of the silence and the love poured upon me.  In that present moment I felt the Full Rest who is God.


Dear Ones, may you be blessed on your journey by Full Rest and my you offer Full Rest to others with great love and affection ... Amen.

Secrets of the Spiral Staircase

 

Sometimes you find a picture that strikes you so deep in your soul that it captivates you for a very long time.  That is the way I felt with this one ... so I sat with it awhile and I drew my own interpretation of it ... I didn't try to duplicate it ... I just tried to let it inspire me ... then I wrote poetry with it and let it speak to me.

Secrets of Spiral Staircase

Round and round I go up the stairs
Round and round I go down the stairs

Round and round I go one step up
up to the sun
Sharp blades of light
A golden explosion
I’m blinded by the light

Round and round I go one step down
down in the dark
Mystery and pain
I’m blinded by the night

Fingers of madness tickling my mind
I’m stuck in the middle
Of my own spiral staircase 

Can't go up

No solace in the light

Can't go down
No comfort in the dark

O my soul ... I'm trapped
round and round I go

falling into the Heart of God
© 2008 Cindy Foster Serio & revised 2009