Song: Promises

https://soundcloud.com/bridget-jean-71619884/promises-7-ending-4

At the Brink of Becoming

I stand at the brink of becoming.
And in this moment,
There is so much to do.
There is always so much to do.
Like the constant of the moving Earth--
Which I never asked to twirl--
Yet I find myself spinning,
Propelling my life forward
At times at a dizzying pace.

How do I pause this never-ceasing sequence of demands?
How do I create space for will and mind and body?
    To be reflective?
    To be kind?
    To be grateful? 
    To be all the best that life has to offer?
    To be?

So I stand.
I stand at this brink of becoming,
And I breathe deeply into my growing belly and swelling breasts,
Where new life will emerge and then be nourished.

And in this becoming I am not the same as yesterday,
Nor tomorrow.
But isn’t this always true?
As life continues to spin us forward?
So I stop.
     I sit.
     I write the stirrings of my heart.
     I take time to bathe my achy joints
              and wash my skin clean of yesterday.
     I don myself with sweet smelling lotions
              and bright ruby lip balm.
     I put on a bright yellow dress,      
              so bright that it speaks of the beauty of life
              while also cautioning to slow down this pace.
     I frame my face with delicate, light blue, teardrop earrings;
For today is a day of becoming.
And it won’t be long when such luxuries will be unreachable,
Due to the increasing demands of life.
      A mouth to feed and soul to soothe
      On top of sleepless nights.
But that is not today.

Today my child is safe inside my swollen belly.
He is tiny, but growing fast.
I can relate to the feeling.

Today I make space for my yellow dress
                                      and sweet-smelling lotions
                                      and ruby lip balm.
All the while the world keeps spinning,
And the demanding tasks continue to beckon.
But I can make space to savor this moment:
This moment at the brink of becoming.

Blooming Among Sunflowers

I was published in Bella Grace!!!

At the Cusp of Springtime

I exist in a time at the cusp of springtime.
And in a space ripe for the intermingling of the secular and sacred.
Where they bleed into One.
And it awakens in me a aching longing.
For deep rest and sunshine.
For hard work and laughter.
For community and solitude.

And it is in this time and space,
I plant my feet on the ground
And reach for the heavens
Knowing that I am created from the dust of stars,
Yet exist in the confines and expansiveness
Of time and space and awareness.

Breathe it in.  Breathe it out.
For this moment will pass,
Yet it is as it is for all of eternity.

And I dance among juxtapositions,
Finding movement and joy in their music.
And continue to search for their presence on Earth.
This aching Earth.
This aching longing.
Ripe with life's possibilities.
At the cusp of springtime.

Autumn Prayer

Lord, make my life the very prayer I offer up to You.

Let it be in my waking and my sleeping; the work of my hands, the work of my mind, in my dreaming, and my planning.  Especially, Lord, help the mundane tasks be prayers to You, the daily chores of dishes and taking out the garbage grocery shopping and putting on make-up.  For nothing is separate from You, my God.  You infuse this world like tea in hot water.  Let my prayer be a song of thanksgiving and a canticle of concerns for all of Your Creation, especially the small piece of the pie I am called to steward: this body, mind, and spirit; those I love and those who love me; materials in my care.  Help me to stay deeply rooted in You that I may carry gratitude and concern in Light and Wisdom.

Lord, You are God and I am not.  I praise You for even granting me strength and ability to approach You in time, word, paper, song.  For I am so small in comparison to your cosmos and You are so big compared to your cosmos.  Yet, it matters.  I matter.  This day and what I do and do not bring to it, it all matters.

So I pray for the energy to do your work, let my heart rejoice as You rejoice and my soul cry out for the things that break You, break wholeness, break Holiness.

Spare me from being one that loves all of humanity, but cannot love my neighbor next door.

Grant me grace.
Grant me grace.
Grant me grace
        Love and mercy.
        Humility.

Lord, let this be my prayer.  Let it pulse in my veins and radiate from my heart.

Help me to trust.

Dwell in beauty.
     Bathe in beauty.
Dwell there.

Amen.

Slide Show from Rehearsal Dinner