morning gift

To see the morning as gift – this is the prayer of the tired mother. When even the day itself threatens to become one big inconvenience, it must be remade in this whispered offering, made into the day I can rejoice in. To let go of the covers is to give up the warm comforts of self and most coveted sleep, and I open my hands and stumble down the hall and into what I hope is grace to make these steps firm today.

Cries from the crib change to coos in my arms and a big flannel smile. The fire flickers into a blaze and the coffee blooms in the French press, and I can feel some warmth seeping in. It’s not the warmth of the bed, no; it is the warmth of a day begun, a day chosen. A day I may have to offer again so I can live this gift and not let it slip away, not stomp all over it because it is not going my way.

A little boy bounces with joy, wide eyed for the wide open day, and I smile too, whisper a thank you for the day – yes, even the morning.

~lg

Good Cheer

This year, at our little hearth, I have chosen a little goal.

~ To create an atmosphere of cheerfulness in our home. ~

Too often I let the day’s burdens bear down on my spirit, and what squeezes out under pressure is not pleasant – dramatic sighs, grumpy gestures, ungrateful words. I don’t want to turn this beautiful life I have been given into a burden. Though some days can be tough, I know just a bit of cheerfulness can lighten my load and brighten my day, not to mention the day of the ones I love.

I just looked up a definition of cheerful, and it means, “full of good spirits.”

I don’t think those are the kind one keeps in a secret cupboard . . . and I’m not even sure those are the kind I can muster up on my own some days. It’s going to take another spirit, the Holy Spirit.

I’m going to need charis, grace, in order to be cheerful. I'm going to need a new Spirit within, so when I am squeezed, it is His fruit that shows up. I’m going to need His reminder, in King James language, to “be of good cheer!” 

Take heart, little hearth!

A simple command, a sincere prayer. 

 

~lg

Just breathe

~ a little thought for moms ~

Take a deep breath.

When it’s the end of a long day and there are still so many things to do, when you are tired and feeling guilty about being tired, when you just don’t have the mental fortitude to finish what you’ve begun, just breathe.

Breathe.

And turn that breath into a prayer, exhaling all the depleted energy you cannot transform, offering the only thing you can at the moment, which is your weakness. Then inhale, invoking the sacred Name that can only be whispered by the poor in spirit, and feel your lungs expand with life that is not your own.

Breathe until you remember this life is your own, given for this moment and the ones to come. This is the Spirit-Breath of God, by which all things are once again possible.

Just breathe.


~lg

St Frances of Rome on Housekeeping

I came across this quote on a blog today. It's one of those thoughts that helps keep things in balance.

"It is most laudable in a married woman to be devout, but she must never forget that she is a housewife. And sometimes she must leave God at the altar to find Him in her housekeeping.”
 ~ St. Frances of Rome


I would also add that there are times that one needs to leave housekeeping to find God at the altar. I think the thing is to be living daily with God so one knows where God is speaking. And wherever that may be, in a sink full of dishes, or in the sanctuary at prayer meeting, listen.

momentary prayer

Today I don’t have time for a long conversation
Just moments when you are on my mind and in my breath
I open the windows and let your breezes blow in
Noting your beauty in the sun’s pattern on the floor
I scrub baby toes and musty cupboards
And this work is my worship
This peace in my heart is prayer
These are the moments of our communion


~lg