Tag Archives: family life

The Immeasurable

My days are measured in stacks of clothes and dishes,
morning passing into night through plates of food and containers of water.
I remember yesterday in the deliciousness of re-warmed stew;
I see the future in little pajama-shirts I will never fold again.

My children’s days are measured in the cards they will play
and the apple crisp they will enjoy – what they will get to do before bedtime –
not often in what they have done, rarely in what they are doing.
Questions:  “When it’s time…?”  Declarations:  “When I’m older….”

My God’s days are measured in gifts of love,
sacrifices of sleep, of time, of self.
Beyond even the certainty of sunrise,
he packs together, shakes down, overflows.

Lord, Let me Bring About Your Kingdom

Lord, Let me Bring About Your Kingdom

My Lord God and my King, my life, my breath, my being, I crawl to you this early morning for the warmth of your embrace. Wake not only my body but my mind and my spirit to Your wonderful ways. Let Your mysteries humble me and Your love sustain me.

As I practice the call of love, let your Holy Spirit be my guide. Fill me with wisdom to act always in accordance with Your will. Send me strength to perform selfless acts of love, humility to see all as better than myself, and grace to endure suffering and trial of all kinds.

I long to be Your good servant. Guide all of my thoughts in meditation, all of my words in writing, all of my movements in exercise to be for Your greater honor and glory alone.

May You bless my love with my husband, my play with my children, my work at home, and my interactions with others.

May you bless our family with happiness and contentment and accept our gratitude for the miracle of life.

You are All in All. In You I live and move and have my being. Take away my worry and remind me of Your providence. Present me with countless opportunity to bring about your kingdom and every grace needed to answer your call.

Amen.

Holy Work

“If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.  If you are blamed, you won’t be discouraged; if anyone calls you a saint, you won’t put yourself on a pedestal.”  ~Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Holy Work

My ears adjust, repressurize
in response to the forty-fifth high-pitched scream of the day
as I scrape uneaten bits of lettuce and broccoli from the dinner plates.

“This is holy work,” I tell myself,
my face close to the trash can, the odor
of old banana peels and used diapers mixing and wafting upward.

My husband stops home for a quick dinner
and I tell him how I’ve not yet lost my mind;
then he heads back to the office and I lose my mind.

The little ones pick and poke and pester each other,
and I add my screeches to their screeching and everything stops –
“I’m sorry,” I tell them, stooping down.  “I could have said that nicely.”

Almost before I ask, they forgive me and we are hugging;
they are giving me all of their love, so I am giving them all of mine –
this is holy work.