A Day in the Life with Autism - Limitless Faith

Today, Lexi and I had a lesson in limitless faith.  My blessing each morning is to drive Emery Kate and Lexi to school.  First we drop off Lexi at her school then EK at the primary school.  This morning the girls were busy packing to go spend the weekend with their father.

Even typical children need routines and consistency in their lives.  But the need is greater and magnified with an atypical child with Autism.  To stay on task I use five minute warnings. This morning was no different than usual except for the packing which their mother had told them as she left for work to finish the packing after school. When we were five minutes from leaving Lexi could not find her extra hair brush and refused to unpack her good brush.  Time was passing and she became more and more frustrated and began to have a meltdown.  Emery Kate whispered in my ear and asked if Mark could take her to school so she wouldn’t be late.  He did and Lexi decided after they left that she would not go to school.

So I did the only thing I could and called her mother. Between the two of us, she coaching me what and how to get Lexi calmer, we convinced her to go to school.  Now there was the chance she would be tardy and that would trigger a whole other meltdown. Jennifer called her school and explained that we coming but might be late, mark her tardy if need be, but please don’t tell Lexi. She also talked with Lexi’s special needs teacher, Mrs. Dent to give her a heads up on Lexi’s state of mind.

Driving to school we were in a lot of traffic.  Behind the school in the carpool line, the PTO president at Lexi’s school, who works every day tirelessly volunteering at the elementary school, was in front of me.  She was turning left to drop her youngest off at the Primary school.  Not one person yielded to her letting her go in front of them.  We waiting car after car as Lexi got more and more anxious. I told her I was sorry for how things went this morning and that I loved her to the moon and back.  I said I would see her later when I got back to the school to volunteer and asked her if she was going to speech.  She said not on Fridays, but that she would find me.

We turned the corner in front of the school, the last car in line.  It was 7:59.  And there standing to Dr. McCrary, the principal, who always greets the children is Mrs. Dent.  They wave to Lexi, open the car door for her and greet her with great smiles.  She’s the last one on time and she is happy.  My heart overflows with gratitude for their response. I call my daughter and tell her we made it and I can’t stop crying.  How does a sweet kind little girl go from being happy and excited about visiting her dad this weekend to angry and frustrating in a matter of seconds because of a hair brush?  The question is rhetorical as there is no answer.  It just is part of living a life with Autism.

I can’t see through Lexi’s eyes or begin to understand her world.  I can remember that deep inside each of us is an inner wisdom and divine essence permeating in and around us.  It is limitless.  When I look inside those beautiful eyes I don’t see the Autism.  I see love; knowing that when I say, “I love you Lexi,” and she responds, “I’ll find you, ” we are saying the same thing.

~Mimi

Me Too - Lexi

I had the pleasure of driving with Lexi to the Chattanooga Autism Center Walk 2016 this weekend.  By ourselves in the car I knew that “Tween Music” on my Pandora would make the drive easier for her as riding in a car has never been fun for her.  She knows all the words to all the songs and when Meghan Trainor’s song “Me Too” came on Lexi asked me to turn it up.  The tune is fun to listen to.  The song is about her, I assume, and the life and times of a pop star.  Yes, it sounds a bit conceited but then it probably is pretty accurate of her life.  But it was the chorus that struck me and which Lexi loved the most.  It goes like this:

“I thank God every day (uh huh)
That I woke up feelin' this way (uh huh)
And I can't help lovin' myself
And I don't need nobody else, nuh uh”

Wow.  Powerful words for anyone to believe in.  But that Lexi is a child with Autism and wakes up every day loving herself is beautiful.  I learned this weekend that 1 girl in 189 girls are affected by Autism.  That statistic surprised me more than I can say.  I’m not sure why.  We knew from day one that Lexi was different but a diagnosis didn’t come until she was 6 years old.  Until I learned the facts about Autism, I was like every other person who judges children who are different without knowing all the facts.  Thanks to the awareness I am learning every day through the CAC, I feel more confident that I’m not judging anymore.

When Lexi asked me to turn up the song when it got to the chorus, I did it.  To sing out with joy that she is happy, confident, loves herself and thanks God for it every day; that’s all I need to know that she is on the right path and will succeed in whatever life brings her.  Her gratitude for all who participated at the walk and/or made a donation was sincere.  Her huge bear hug and genuine “thank you” she gave everyone as they left our home after the Walk, said it all.

As for me, I thank God every day for all my grandchildren and their love for each other.  I thank God every day for my family and friends who supported the Walk by sending money, prayers, and good wishes; who called, cheered us on, and sent messages of love.  It’s not about the money as much it is about the Love. 

The Truth That Lies Within

November 30th – Day 30 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself this 30th day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

Today is the last day of my challenge.  I know I’ve changed by keeping focused on what I pledged to do.  Keeping a record of all that touched me through these 30 days and then blogging about it made the whole process more rewarding.

Each day I begin with the Silent Unity Prayer Service.  The line in the November 2015 service that inspired me was, “With heart and mind united, I am guided in all I do.”  This message ties in with the importance of being in balance.  Finding The Science of Mind meditation, Arise, My Spirit, affirmed the importance of starting my days in spiritual contemplation and then continuing along that path making contact with the Divine throughout the day.

Because Unity’s theme for November was gratitude, I focused on new ways to be thankful, including understanding for the first time in my life that I have the freedom to choose to be grateful.  I do this with my intentions.  I should not wait for special occasions.  Keeping a daily gratitude journal deepens the consciousness of all that I am grateful for.

I might sum up this past months’ challenge using the words of Ernest Holmes, “Look not from revelations from without, but to awakening of Truth that lies within.”

 

Namaste

Thanksgiving Day

November 26th – Day 26 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself this 26th day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

Today is Thanksgiving Day.  I celebrate and give thanks for my many blessings.  I acknowledge that I have learned from my life experiences, and I am grateful for the person I am today.

“A grateful mind is a great mind, which eventually attracts to itself great things.”

 ~ Plato

I love Thanksgiving Day for it brings to mind a sense of tradition and warm feelings.  Not just feelings of gratitude but feelings of goodness that lift me to heights unknown.  Childhood memories of sitting around my grandmother’s huge dining room table surrounded by cousins, aunts, and uncles were for the most part good.  I get the same feeling when I watch the TV show Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck in which there is one scene in every episode where four generations of the family share a meal.  At my grandmother’s or watching it on TV, I am reminded that I have faith in God as my every-present Good.  Having a feeling of gratitude today or every day brings me love and joy.

Today is a great day to focus on the present and what is good and useful; to think twice before carrying my cellphone around with me; and choose happiness where it takes me.

While focusing on what is promising, I remember to listen to the wisdom inside me that as Barbara Doern Drew and Walter Drew write, “will bring us home to our authentic nature, our true calling in life.”

With every thought of gratitude, we deepen our receptivity to the blessings of God. When we are thankful, we are attuned to God and the many ways divine light, life, and love work in and through us. When we are grateful, we view life from a higher perspective—a sacred perspective. We see things beyond our human perception, and we gain a new sense that all is well in our lives and in the lives of those we care about. - GratefulLiving.org

 

“Every time we give thanks for anything, we are affirming our own vital existence.”

~ Margaret Stortz

The Spirit of Truth

November 23^rd – Day 23 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself this 23^rd day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” ~ John 16:13

“To know the Truth is to let go of untruths.” ~ Eric Butterworth

“…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ~ John 8:32

“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself.  It is the only true guide you will ever have.  And if you cannot hear it, you will all your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” ~ Howard Thurman

“Grace is not a part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason.” ~ Pope Francis

“Gratitude is one of the chief graces of human existence and is crowned in heaven with a consciousness of unity.” ~ The Science of Mind

It is said that what grace delivers will exceed the furthest of our imagination.  Taking into consideration the words of Pope Francis, I can now see that gratitude and grace are divinely connected and it is up to me to live my life in a state of consciousness that combines the two.  To be touched by the light of God’s grace and be filled with gratitude throughout the day (without thinking about it), what joy that would bring!

The Rev. John Considine suggests we, “Take a moment every day to dedicate being in a relationship with God.” He goes on to give us a few secrets to help us experience the Divine Presence every day:

·         On Monday morning as you arrive at work, before you pick up the telephone, check your e-mail, or turn on a machine, take a moment to dedicate this day and week to being in relationship with God. You might say the Lord’s Prayer or simply, “Be with me, God.” The exact words are not important. Simply intend to be aware of the presence of God all week long.

·         If you use a computer at work, put a reminder of God’s presence on your screen saver. It need not be overly religious. Just a simple, “God is blessing me and my company today!” If you don’t use a computer, a 3x5 card near your workspace works just as well.

·         When the boss walks by, say a prayer for him or her. And throughout the day, pray for the success of your company and coworkers and the projects you are engaged in. Don’t pray to change anyone. That’s not your job. Pray that everyone feels loved and successful.

·         If you experience a challenge or become upset at work, stop for a moment and take a deep breath. Say a prayer like “I prefer peace over this. Thank you, God, for returning me to peace of mind.” Keep repeating that until you feel your peace returning.

From a list of Gratitude Prayers From Around the World provided by faith representatives on the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, I especially liked this one:

BUDDHISM

Eternal Spirit, You who go by many names. Let us offer thanks for the bounty of the earth and to the sun, the rain, and all of the sentient beings. Let us be mindful of the vast web of our interconnectedness to all beings, and celebrate our religious diversity.

So let it be.

Tap, Tap, Tap

November 20th – Day 20 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself this 20^th day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

On so many levels we are one with everyone we encounter.  If we begin the day in anger, we can set the tone for the rest of the day.  Just as spreading joy brings happiness to others.

“The moment you start watching the thinker, a high level of consciousness becomes activated.  You then begin to realize that there is a vast realm of intelligence beyond thought, that thought is only a tiny aspect of that intelligence.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

I remember the exact day, not the date, but where I was when I began to see from a higher view.  I was walking a par course near my home early one morning.  I had been questioning my faith, having grown up as a Christian in a mainstream protestant church.  Now in my forties, the world had evolved.  With great technology, cell phones, cable TV and the Internet my world view was changing.  I walked, thinking about my dilemma when suddenly I felt three hard taps on my left shoulder and then a whisper in my right ear.  I heard, “Christianity is only a tiny speck in my eye.”  Even now as I write this I get goose bumps and feel the love and warmth of hearing God’s voice.  It was then that I realized I could see beyond my circle of intelligence to the “vast realm” that Tolle refers to.  I trust this higher perspective and welcome it.

Fast forward another twenty-five years and I read this: “There is only One Infinite God and every time man speaks to this God, he receives a direct answer.  ONE! ONE! ONE! [My tap, tap, tap!]  “I am God and there is none else.” ~ The Science of Mind

J. Sig Paulson writes, “The finest help we can give another human being is to recognize gratefully his or her true identity.”  He goes on the say, “According to the Bible, all of us are made in the image of God.  Our exercise in gratitude begins with these words: "I praise and give thanks for God’s image in me.”  And then we use the same exercise when praying for others saying, “I praise and give thanks for God’s image in you.”  He concludes by affirming that this exercise “will often change another’s life for the better.”

 

“Give thanks to God and look at life with a thankful spirit.” ~ Martha Smock

Gratitude is a State of Mind

November 19th – Day 19 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself this 19^th day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

“God and I work together to create my peace, and I begin that process by releasing expectations about the behavior of others.  It is easier to move forward in love and respect when I remember that in Truth we are all spiritual beings having a human experience.  We are all expressions of God.” ~ Daily Word

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.” ~ Matthew 7:12

God is my source of unlimited good.  Centered in this awareness, I give thanks for prospering ideas and I open to the goodness of God in full measure. ~ Silent Unity

“Therefore the humble is the root of the noble.” ~ Lao Tsu

To step off the edge is the only way to really know God has got the rope and is not going to let you fall.  Each day since my dear friend’s grandson has been in the hospital battling a brain tumor and side-affects to the treatments, I have prayed for him and his family.  Each day I say The Prayer of Protection using his name:

The Light of God Surrounds Us

The Love of God Enfolds Us

The Power of God Protects Us

The Presence of God Watches Over Us

Wherever We Are, God Is

By James Dillet Freeman

And while praying I have crocheted a lap afghan for my friend.  I hope that as she wraps the afghan across her lap, she will feel God’s love and remember that she and her family are loved.

Life is like a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it. “Act as though I am and I will be.” ~ The Science of Mind

Peter Bolland tells the story of how writing a daily gratitude journal changed his life.  I started my most recent gratitude journal on March 12, 2012, which was the 64^th wedding anniversary of the day my parents were married.  Now three years later I have come to realize what Bolland realized – it’s not the product (of the list) but the process.  Being grateful is a state of mind.  I get that now.

“I didn’t change the world. I changed the way I saw the world.” ~ Peter Bolland

“Practice gratitude daily and your life will change in ways you can hardly imagine.”

~ Rev. Ruth Wallace

A Hero's Journey

November 18^th – Day 18 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself on this 18^th day to do all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

“Gratitude is a sign of noble souls.” ~ Aesop

 

“All that there is of wisdom, truth or light is found intact within each human soul.”

~ Ernest Holmes

 

Today I recognized that it’s time to honor my intuition more than my habits.

“When we know the Truth, it will compel us to act in a correct manner.  The conscious thought controls the subconscious and, in turn, the subconscious controls conditions.  We plant the seed and the Law (Mind in action) produces the plant.” ~ The Science of Mind

I am an independent spirit with unlimited powers.  Spirit gives me the inner resources to rise above whatever I face.  I have the power to do and be whatever I choose.

“The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” ~ Isaiah 58:11

I am calm in the midst of all activity.  In this peace, in this calm I am at home.

  Life is good.

“It is THAT time of year.  People are rushing around gathering gifts, flying to see family and friends.  It can feel a little hectic.  This is the time to practice calmness.  Remember, you are the light of the world.  Coming from that place of calm allows that light to shine forth even in the midst of all the activities.” ~ Eugene D. Holden

According to Rev. Carla McClellan, “We look at life as a Hero’s Journey.  The Hero is that part of us that remains constant and courageous, regardless of what is happening around us.”  She goes on to suggest we ask ourselves if it would be alright if our lives got easier?  Then ask, “Am I willing to be authentic?”  Third observe our life instead of analyzing it.  Finally, say YES to whatever situations are causing discomfort.  “When you say ‘yes’ you are accepting the facts of the situation, but not its power over you,” she concludes.

Following these suggestions, I can begin to live a life filled with meaning, courage, and possibilities.

“Each and every day, take a moment and be grateful for all you have in life.”

~ Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D.

See Life Differently

November 13^th – Day 13 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself on this 12^th day to do all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight.” ~ Proverbs 4:7

Wherever I walk, I walk with the Light and feel the presence of God.

Whenever I see friends or family unhappy at work or the way things are going in their life, I want to fix it or make it better.  I can’t.  But I can hold them gently in my heart and picture them happy, healthy, and whole.  As they begin to move from a place of unhappiness to a place of goodness, my joy for them magnifies and we are all blessed.

This journey of gratitude is not as much about listing all the things I’m grateful for but is about acquiring a consciousness of gratefulness.  Part of that is giving thanks for the things we don’t like.  Kelly Isola encourages us to face trouble or pain by saying, “Thank you, and let me show you what it means to me.”

 “To see life differently, I had to love what was in front of me.”

~ Kelly Isola

Veteran's Day Gratitude

November 11^th – Day 11 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself on this 11^th day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

Today is Veteran’s Day.  I honor and thank those who served or are doing so currently.  I know that to honor them, I do so by doing what I can to live in peace and bring peace to the world.  Today, I say “Thank You” to my husband, his father, and my father for serving our country.

John F. Kennedy said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but live by them.”

According to Dr. Jesse F. Tanner, we have the freedom to choose to be grateful.  We do this with our intentions.  We don’t have to wait for special occasions.  Instead, “We are able to tune in to our innate capacity for gratefulness each moment of every day.”

Rev. Joan M. Gattuso reminds us to take inventory of what we have to be grateful for.  Doing so, our faith is bound to increase.  She adds that we should look through lenses of gratitude at everyone in our lives and celebrate the obvious delights as we uncover the hidden ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few techniques Gattuso suggests on how to deepen the consciousness of gratitude for yourself:

1.      Always hold God at the forefront of your mind, and first and foremost give God the thanks.

2.      Make a list of your dear ones and send each a loving blessing during your meditation time.

3.      Send a note of thanksgiving to each person on your list, making sure it arrives before the Christmas onslaught of mail.

4.      Call or see personally the ones for whom you feel the greatest appreciation and tell them how you feel. As the song says, “Shower the people you love with love/Tell them the way that you feel.” What a difference you will make in their lives and yours.

 

“There is no better way to spend your own quite time than reflecting on the reasons you have to be grateful.” ~ Joan M. Gattuso

Thank You

November 10^th – Day 10 – Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself on this 10^th day to focusing on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

Today, I am guided by God within.  I see as God sees and I affirm that one day soon I will do so without first interpreting what I see.

I am a radiant expression of Light.  Yesterday, I spent most of the day standing in the kitchen baking one bread, one pie, one dessert after another.  Some I’m donating for my P.E.O. chapter’s annual bake sale, but one was for dessert as I’m serving lunch for the members after our meeting.  As I measured, stirred, beat, and baked, I welcomed every blessing – expected and unexpected.  For each item was my gift to a worthy cause – projects that support education for women.  I cleaned up in time to cook dinner for my husband and me and said a prayer of thanks with a grateful heart.

 

 

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ it will be enough.”

~ Meister Eckhart

Gratitude is a way of life.  Unity Co-founder, Myrtle Fillmore suggested being thankful even in the midst of hardship.  If you are experiencing difficulty, she advised, “Be grateful in advance for the good you know will come of this.”

Gratitude changes everything.  Most of all it changes us.

Possibilities are Limitless

November 8 – 30-Day Challenge and Journey of Gratefulness

I resolve to impose definite restrictions on my thoughts.  In thinking of the past, I will dwell only on its pleasing incidents.  In thinking of the present, I will direct my attention to its desirable elements.  In thinking of the future, I will regard every worthy and possible ambition as within reach.

I dedicate myself on this 8^th day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

“My possibilities are as limitless as the Infinite in which I live and which lives in me.” ~ Ernest Holmes

“Prayer too often ends up being directed at something outside the self with a request for a change in conditions,” writes Rev. Dr. Christian Soresen.  “Imagine the difference if your prayer was a communion with the Infinite.  You would no longer be petitioning anything to shift.  Your only desire would be to know God better.”  There are answers to prayer beyond our expectations; we just need to get in tune with the Infinite.

In my communion with the Divine, I come to I know more than I ever knew I could.

I Have Known, Always

I have known the Truth, and no fear can

keep my inner knowledge from me.

My wisdom from within comes forth

into daily expression.

Knowledge from On High is given to me,

and I shall always be led of the Spirit.

I Know the Truth

~ Science of Mind Meditations, page 533

When we focus on how grateful for the love, happiness, peace, and joy already in our lives, we send a message to the Universe: More of this please!

 

 

“All creation is a song of praise.”

~ Hildegard of Bingen

Living in Harmony

Day 6 - 30-Day Mental Challenge and Journey of Gratitude

I dedicate myself on this 6th day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

I know my body pretty well, and it's for sure that the later I go to bed, the longer I sleep.  And the longer I sleep, the more rested I wake.  Keep in mind that a good night's sleep for me is about seven hours.  I'm told that is good for someone my age.  And waking rested assures me of being in harmony with the world around me.

Last night the PTO at my granddaughter's school sponsored a fundraiser for the fifth grade end-of-the-year trip. The actual evening was a complete mess, due to the actions of the principal without PTO knowledge resulting in thoroughly throwing the caterers, auction time, and choirs off schedule.  Those of us on the PTO board took the high road and just let things happen.  But in the end, we raised over $2000 and more importantly my precious granddaughter got to sing Christmas songs with the choir for the parents eating dinner. Sometimes living in harmony takes work.

My middle granddaughter, age 7, had head lice again, for the third time.  Back in the days when my children were in school, classrooms were closed and the children sent home while the rooms were disinfected.  They were not allowed to return until all heads were clear of lice.  To help with the situation my daughter suggested she get her long brown hair cut.  She agreed on the condition that she be allowed to get some purple and blue highlights.  I believe the end result is beautiful.  Her ability to take a negative and turn it into a positive brings good to all she enriches.

Today I will look to what is to come.  I believe it will be a most promising day for Divine wisdom guides my choices and actions.

From GratefulLiving.today at Unity.org: "True gratitude is a spiritual quality that is built into the soul with each day's practice, and its reward is rich and infinitely satisfying.

"Empty your mind of everything.

Let the mind rest in peace."

~ Tao te Ching

November 5th - Day 5 of the 30-day Challenge and Journey of Gratefulness

I dedicate myself on this fifth day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising! PNS

Today's Daily Word Magazine from Unity affirms the importance of starting each day in a positive manner.  To be an inspiring presence of peace in kindness is a grand way to start the day, however keeping that vow can be challenging at times.

Yesterday, I got caught up in a conversation about life being not fair.  It is very hard to watch when a student is given special privileges by teachers and their actions result in my grandchild being hurt.  She is learning a lesson on life, and we are encouraged that she is taking a positive attitude about the situation.  Today, I am reminded to follow suit and let her wisdom guide me.

It is said that giving is not about duty, religion or manipulation; it's a spiritual practice that is intended to be the natural state of being.  It is an extension of our consciousness.

We are encouraged to "take action" or to do a service project for all badges and journeys provided by the Girl Scout Council.  Our Service Unit, which is a collection of troops in our area celebrated our founder's birthday recently.  Each troop donated a "Birthday-in-a-Bag" for a homeless child.  My husband, granddaughter and I took the bags to the homeless shelter a few days after the celebration.  There was only a receptionist behind a locked door to receive our donations.  She was grateful.  And we left knowing that a homeless child's birthday may be a little bit better because of our actions.

To nourish my body I tried a new "clean food" recipe.  I first made from scratch a pesto hummus which I can use for dipping fresh vegetables.  But this time I tossed it with cut up cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, chopped red onion and black beans and served it on my beautiful homegrown beet leaves.  I had two leaf sandwiches, a bowl of unsweetened natural applesauce and a cheese stick and left the meal satisfied!

From the Science of Mind, we read: "The wave in the ocean will never be a wave by itself.  It Will be the ocean as a wave."



In the same way, I can do nothing alone, but with the presence of God I live and breathe.

Thank you, God.  Thank you God!

Tomorrow is not meant as an escape from today!

November 3 - Day Three - 30 Day Challenge

I dedicate myself on this third day to focus on all that is nourishing, advancing, and promising!

Yesterday, I failed in the nourishing department. Leftover Tootsie Rolls from the over 200 "trick or treaters" were too much of a temptation. 

While crocheting a prayer shawl for a dear friend whose grandson is in the hospital fighting cancer, I came across this Jewish Shawl Blessing:

 

Bar-chi naf-shi et A-do-nai.

Praise the Eternal one, O my soul!

O God, You are very great!

 

As I center my thoughts on loving others, I remember these words:

 

"You shall love your neighbors as yourself.  There is no other commandment greater."

~ Mark 12:31

 

From Silent Unity: "I envision and affirm peace for the world."

 

Over the years I have met older people who find themselves returning to the church to be closer to God.  Because their mortality is in question, and fear of not much time left, they want to leave this world, "in good standing," as some have said.  I have compassion for this need "to meet God."  But, I am, however, comforted by the words of Jesus when his disciples asked him, "What is God's relationship to the dead?"  He replied, "God is not a God of the dead but of the living, for in His sight all are alive."  For me, this means that we clearly live in a spiritual universe where our human forms change but not our spiritual forms.  My thoughts, my body, my life all live so that God can live through me.

 

Tomorrow is not meant as an escape from today.  Being grateful for what I have now only increases and supports the abundance that surrounds me.