Life ... on the Path

Prayer Trail at Lakeview Methodist Conference Center near Palestine, TX

  In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, 

and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. 

Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.  

~Mahatma Gandhi

Life ...

“Listen--are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?” ~Mary Oliver

In the River of My Life

sitting in the silence of the night

getting a sense of stirrings within

darkness calling

unknown spaces

deep places

sad little girl

who are you?

wondering ... wandering

so much pain in the world

so so much pain inside that little girl

crying ... crying ...crying

deep flowing waters

moving upward

bursting outward

womb of God

fount of birthing

shatters with a piercing cry

pushing forth the healing waters

salty tears ... deep red fears

mix together

flowing along

the river of my life

dear sweet tree

growing so strong

in the river of my life

let your roots drink deeply

of tears, fears and pain

draw them together

into the womb of God

into the center of my soul

into union so mysterious

let my life bloom

with nourishing leaves

of prayers and worship

along the labyrinth

of music and delight

let my life fill to overflowing

with loving relationships

and beauty divine

let me create my life with you

and color the world

with drawings and poetry

that speak of the soul

let my life be a retreat

into the silence of true rest

let my life be a journey

into the action of love so true

dear sweet tree of God

in the river of my life ...

may i always live

MY life and no other

© Image and Poetry by Cindy Serio Nov 2011

What does the next moment hold ... really?

WOW!  Yesterday was quite a day.  

There I was sitting at a red light behind an 18-wheeler at a major intersection: Texas Hwy 99 and FM 1093 in Fort Bend County.  I looked up in my rear view mirror and noticed that the 18-wheeler coming up behind me wasn't slowing down ... honestly my mind went blank and I braced myself thinking that my daughter and I would be no long alive in the next moment ... unwilling filler in an 18-wheel sandwich.

Suddenly the driver swerved to the right and I quickly inched up and over as far as I could with the vehicles surrounding me perilously close.  boom! we are jarred as our vehicle was hit by the back of the trailer. We turned our heads slowly to the right to watch as the truck was driven up the concrete embankment.  It stopped at the top with a pregnant pause when suddenly the wheels were moving again back in our direction.  Slowly the truck begins a harrowing roll over toward us.  It seemed as if time entered a slow motion tunnel.  All we can do is watch without knowing if we'd have another moment of life.  Time stood still for a millisecond as the dirt rained down upon us and the truck stopped its roll ... about 6 inches from our vehicle.  I think Katie screamed while it happened and I know I hyperventilated when it was all over.  And all I can do today as I rub my sore muscles is

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!
AND ARE WE YET ALIVE!

PS:  the brakes had failed ... the truck driver walked away without a scratch ... It's a miracle.

As we move toward Palm Sunday and Holy Week ... I continue to ask myself ... what does the next moment hold ... really?  Life is precious and fleeting.  Enjoy what you have while you have it ... knowing that resurrection awaits...

Peace, Cindy

Peace ... Be Still!

Here I am still thinking about peace. Consider this passage of Scripture about Jesus and a Storm:
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ Mark 4:35-41

We cannot stop the storms of life from coming, but we can turn to God in the midst of the storm we call life and allow God to speak into it ... Peace! Be Still! I find it easier to live in awareness of God's presence rather than to ride the roller coaster of life acting and reacting as I go. To do that, I spend time in silence ... Try this prayer exercise from BE STILL by Jane Vennard. I find it very effective in my effort to cultivate this kind of presence.

Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”
Set aside some time to sit with this verse in prayer. Repeat the verse leaving off a portion at time. Be silent and spend as long as you can with each phrase (at least 1-2 minutes)

be still and know that I am God
be still and know that I am
be still and know
be still
be ...

the dream that won't let go

Have you ever had a dream that just wouldn't let you go? I think this kind of dream is a calling. Elusively it comes, in bits and pieces, sometimes gently and sometimes violently. I think this is just the way a life well-lived unfolds. Finally perhaps the bits and pieces fall into a place called beauty.

My dream and my calling is Mosaic Spiritual Formation Ministry ... Creating Beauty from the Broken Pieces of Life. Check out my website at http://mosaicspiritualformationministry.org

What makes you come alive?

"Don't ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman

Each evening I engage in a "daily examen." Very simply, I consider the events of my day, and I ask myself "What was life-giving?" and "what was life-draining?" As I experience the examen as a spiritual exercise, over time I find that it helps me to figure out just what it is that makes me come alive ... this is not a pattern that emerges quickly or clearly for this is a matter of the soul and mine needs much safety to share her wisdom.

Wisdom that arises from the soul doesn't always make sense. It doesn't always fit in a box but it might look great in a mosaic! In the last couple of days I have encountered God disguised as a "weeping woman." Each one in such deep pain that I could only hold the space with her ... no answers will you find here ... just simple presence as Spirit envelops us. The prophet Jeremiah (29:12-14a) writes a message from God to seekers like me

"when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.
When you search for me, you will find me;
if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord"

Seeking God ... Finding God ... in the most unlikely people and places. This is what makes me alive! So I think I must go to the most unlikely places ...

Here I am, Send me!

¹³¹⁴

So dear friends ... what makes you come alive?

I'd love to hear from you if you'd care to share ...