Godde our Maker

~ Creator Godde ~

it is You who have made us, not we ourselves

You have molded us in Your likeness with

lives made to love, honor and respect 

You entered our lowly realm to model what

our lives should look like as images reflecting 

Your Holy Self, imperfect human mirrors of Divine 

~ Perfection ~

 oh how we have failed to show our love to

You, our Maker, Redeemer, Friend - how we

have failed to love our neighbors as ourselves

please Godde, make us see our blind shortcomings

make us value others as we do ourselves, guide

us to own respect and justice for all, to love as

~ Godde our Maker ~ 

JoMae

9/25/20

"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture."  Ps 100:3 KJV 

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Psalm 100:3 as memorized in childhood, came to mind whiile listening to a message recently where the pastor asked Godde our Maker to make us...  My musing led to this small prayer.  Enjoy!

Summer's End

Good Morning World!  

I love to watch my street wake up just beyond front windows as I enjoy hot coffee with my reading this crisp 50ºs morning.

~ Summer’s End ~

It is Saturday morning and people are out

with the sun on their back and their dog

on a leash, walking - brisk in warm 

sweaters - this ’taste of fall’ day

first the walkers with their dogs

then serious bikes ride past

 while roller blades fly by

dancing skate boards

  finally small kids -- all 

eager to breathe in

fresh  crisp  air of

~ Autumn ~

even an electric

wheel chair with a 

flowing white beard

speeds by - I wonder

were smaller wheels

once his? Does he

smile behind his

wild whiskers

~ Remembering? ~

(by now 

sun warming

sweaters shed

I should grab my

stick and join ‘em!)

JoMae

9/12/20

A view from my city window this chilly bright morning. Enjoy!

Labor Day

~ John's Labor of Love ~

~ Labor Day ~

I wake to another Monday Morning.  One that should feel a little different because this is Labor Day. A holiday. We often did not make a big thing of holidays. Simply spent them together. We might not go any where or gather friends around, yet the day felt different.  That in itself colored the hours as we lingered over coffee or fixed a hamburger. 

When we spent holidays alone we liked it that way. I marvel over what a difference it makes when a couple is alone or when one is alone.  This day too, I’ll spend with myself.  And it’s ok. Almost 4 years now, I should be used to it.  

Thankfully, I keep busy with my pages.  Books. A lot of thinking. The pages I fill with words born of that thinking - and with my blog pages and other media waiting for the work I wish to share.  

It will be a day like any other.  Every once in a while I’ll look up and remember that this is Labor Day.  I’ll read articles considering this special day. I’ll wander to the kitchen for another cuppa and tell the sink full of dishes - hey, it’s Labor Day after all.  Maybe later. Then return to my favorite chair and the page I’m working on.

At first, coming to grips with being on my own, I saw this as a new chapter. So different than the one before. So unexpected, foreign and disorienting. A chapter difficult to find my way into; difficult to write.  Gradually I realized, these years are not just a new chapter.  This is a whole new book.

I’m trying to make it a good book. One that shows how in every loss lies buried gifts - to be opened when the time is right. Small seeds to nurture into blossoms.   New responsibilities to grow into. A book reminding us that every ending is a new beginning - and to trust, to savor it’s unfolding. For I’ve learned already that when/if another loss occurs, I will be ok. I might be scared, but will be ok.  

If mine were a real book, I’d name it 

~ Hope ~

JoMae

9/7/20

Reflection

~ REFLECTION ~

ONE

Family

the Trinity

three persons 

reflecting the other

Beloved Holy Godde

A loving marriage is 

also a reflection of 

each other and

the Godhead

a family

One

JoMae

3/20/20

Suddenly Solitary

~ Aging Alone ~

I used to see old widows suddenly on their own

and wonder what she did all day alone inside her home

and now I know

I find something fun to read, to make me laugh aloud

I read a psalm to frame my prayer

I think of some old friend to let them know I care

I stumble on a thought provoking article and write my feelings out

I read a novel to travel worlds away and back again refreshed

I study life long interests and ponder new development

I write to sort out all that I am gaining

I’ve learned to gather via zoom and even study there

my days fly by

Another’s list is different. We’re each unique

yet I’ve learned beyond death’s loss

life can be complete again 

JoMae

9/2/20

This morning I was reading an article totally different from these thoughts yet it triggered a need to stop and capture these first lines as they popped into my head. The rest poured out like a brain burp.

Wandering Prayers

~ El Shama ~ 

scattered clouds of thoughts and prayers drifting through

the heavens to the listening ear of the God who hears

~ Wandering Prayers ~

Sometimes I pray on pages

sometimes words wander in

the air as I ride out the quiet

and ponder mysteries of life

- old friends and new, while

savoring small insights and

wonder with grateful heart

about blessings faithfully

received  - and the gifts

I trust will be there as

needed once again.

Amen

JoMae

8/17/20

May this new week find for each of us some small gift to blossom and grow stronger with each day. Have a great week everyone!

Change - Exchange

~ Change - Exchange ~

in each moment of change some familiar is lost

sometimes our choice, yet more often not

as we adjust to each fall let us recall

that embedded in change, exchange abides

deeply tucked into loss, a gain resides

a hidden seed prepared to sprout

like a spark in the ashes ready to glow

may we know, be aware, prepare, take heart

find hope against that day of unsought change

be open - with time - to watch for, welcome and

unwrap the surprise present offered in

The Gift Exchange

JoMae

11/14/19

Presence

~ Presence ~

Beloved Parent, Holy Godde

monarch,  comforter and friend

thanks for your sure presence in

this day. Please bless these hours

grant peace on fear along my way

may wisdom rule in all I do or say

thank you for sweet sunshine

after cold rain of yesterday

thank you for a morning 

pouring promise on

my prayer

JoMae

4/23/20

As If...

~ It was as if… ~

Godde split me open

took home my other half

then pulled me kicking and

screaming into a blessed 

new chapter of my life

Thanks be to Godde

JoMae

3/23/20

Adapting

Rained Out? Have An Umbrella Parade

You should see these kids today! Life is full of adapting to change!

~  Adapting ~ 

I never know when a writing prompt is going emerge!  This morning, taking a quick peek at facebook, the first thing I saw was a photo and recipe of a decadent desert followed by comments about how yummy it looked. I immediately noticed something that prompted me to close fb until later so I could write. Because…

Some time ago I would have joined right in.  I still like a bit of chocolate and a little gooey sweetness - but this absolutely did not appeal. In noticing that, I saw a connection to other recent life changes.  I felt almost compelled to stop and examine it all more closely.

Several years back, I landed in the hospital where it was discovered I am diabetic. Determined to manage this, I changed my eating patterns and learned to control the disease with careful food intake. Soon thereafter, I was taken off prescription meds and so far have not needed to go back on them.  I know I am fortunate and many people cannot do this. 

The thing is, I use very little sugar - and as time went by, began to observe that beautiful deserts tempted less and less, until, as this morning  proved, brought quite the opposite reaction from that of craving!  Also, a little sugar is apt to taste far too sweet!  How things have changed! And how my body has adapted! My very notion of a treat is different today.

Which brings me to the other change my gut response to this morning’s photo brought to mind.  After living with loved ones my whole life, for three years now, since my husband died, I’ve been adapting to life on my own. A task at first unthinkable, impossible.  Yet gradually one learns how. Slowly moving forward into this unknown, new routines - unchosen, yet forced by circumstance, became small comfort zones. Small gifts, embracing and embraced. Until, one day looking back, an awareness sets in that while memories remain a wonderful place to visit, new joy has seeped in. New life. 

For me, that joy comes wrapped in endless hours to read and contemplate and write.  Long days. At first a nightmare, incomprehensible to survive, have become a welcome gift. An old gift/hobby, really - now multiplied.  A gift I open eagerly each morning and almost always find a sweet surprise to ponder and enjoy.  In this way too, my whole being has adapted! Thanks be to Godde!

~ Adopting Change ~

JoMae

7/27/20