mercy center

was my spiritual womb

for a long time

it always changed the pace of my breathing and walking

there a mother of young children

became a daughter of God

there a pastor of a congregation

became a follower of Jesus

there a full-time caregiver

became nurtured and satisfied by the Spirit

It was beneath this rose cross in the chapel 

I became an adult in the presence of God 

as I encountered God speaking to my heart 

"you don't need to kneel"

there a sinner 

became a friend of Jesus

*It used to be just a drop-down canvas without a frame, which I loved the natural look

https://www.mercybythesea.org/

as long as I love him

Avery Point


strangely comforted by these words

I've listened to the stories of the people  
about how Jesus revealed himself to them
and I shared mine 

all of a sudden 
Jesus in the stories of the people  
comes alive in me 
as Jesus in the gospel
he's real

it's true
he promised

all these years 
to all these people
he's been fulfilling his promise 
because they were in love with him

maybe that's the source of my comfort 
I have his promise 
I will be loved by him 
and loved by God
and he will continue to reveal himself to me 
as long as I love him

what an honor

ms. tree

Someone introduced me to the trails behind a cemetery

loved it so much 

went there twice today

Walking slowly on the narrow path with exposed roots like veins of Grandma Earth

surrounded by the scent of fresh pine trees

listening to the echos of a woodpecker from a distance

I felt set apart 

from the rest of the world

It was an ordinary walk until 
something

grabbed my quiet attention  

A broken tree stump,

in the middle of it 

a young pine tree
To my eyes

 she's no longer a broken tree stump    

but a home

for the new lives rooted and growing

In life 

we get broken and wounded

not to the same degrees

but with no exceptions

It's easy for us to turn into wounded beasts

 constantly rubbing our wounds against others to bleed together 

It's harder to be wounded healers
but possible

when we have compassion for our wounded, vulnerable self
allowing others to love us as we are
trusting the certainty of God's desire to heal us
transforming ourselves into something we've never thought possible

giving a room for a new life to grow 

I bow to the tree 
for she is my teacher

drawn to you by Audrey Assad

after everything I've had
after everything I've lost
I know this much is true
I too am still

drawn to you

power of gentleness

as I listened to the winds and rain hitting hard the windows all night

I thought of the tulips in my backyard

thin and long stems just out of the ground

such gentle pedals 

will they survive

the sun came out as if nothing happened 

and I found the tulips 

standing 

as tall and proud 

like a miracle

over and over again I learn 

there's power in gentleness

and often I find

it is a gentleness 

that gets us through the storms

 people like tulips
who seem too gentle therefore vulnerable
when the storm comes
while hard branches get broken
 the wires get cut
yet they still stand tall
because their gentleness
kept them from damaging
themselves and others

drawn to you

by Audrey Assad 

I too am 

still drawn to you

the journey 1

labyrinth at Kripalu

the path covered by bushes and wildflowers

makes you wonder if 
you're on the right path

sometimes 
you just have to trust 
 that the path you're on 
will lead you the center
where your deepest yearning meets 

an invitation of the universe