Not only mine, but tonight, the spirit of a dear friend. Do you think that as we age, our beliefs evolve just as our bodies and minds? As a teenager, I was firmly established in my own personal concept of faith, which encompassed many non-traditional beliefs, and which indeed still does. But lately, more and more, I have turned to words from the Bible and the strength of my friends who are so very firm in their faith that it is inspiring. I feel my spiritual perspective is expanding and compressing at the same time. Perhaps it is focusing in on something that is truly endless, and I am working at coming to terms with that seeming contradiction. I find prayer and God (or use whatever term you will) in the sky and the trees and the rocks and the sea. I look up during prayer, instead of down, with open eyes as if to catch the eye of God. I am reading the Bible and Anne Lamott at the same time. I am looking, not for answers, but for a deeper understanding of purpose, action, and what we can and cannot control. Are we indeed all grains of sand on a beach that God loves, forming into shells that house our bodies, and stones that reflect the clarity of light here and now, only to transform again into air and foam and and whatever form we will take next? Do we not even have the capacity to answer these questions to our own satisfaction – and is that in itself called faith?
Topsail Beach, North Carolina.
Quote of the day: ““if you are writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing the best you can to understand and communicate, this will shine on paper like its own little lighthouse. Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” — Anne Lamott
Daily gratitudes:
Our own form of prayers
MKL
Mr. Man
The easing of the migraine
The cricket in my bedroom
7 comments
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September 16, 2016 at 12:55 pm
thesanguinewoods
Reblogged this on The Sanguine Woods: Where the Heart Can Bleed More Freely… and commented:
I adore the honest, the transparency, beauty, and vulnerability in this post from my buddy over at Seasweetie’s Pages…
September 16, 2016 at 12:59 pm
thesanguinewoods
I do love these words, my friend. I, too, have turned to scriptural words lately, even prayer. Strong, enduring faith is comforting when we see it in others. I, too, see God in a seashell…in a nut shell, in this post, even, and in your beautifully questioning soul. – M
September 18, 2016 at 3:55 pm
Erik le vert
Anne Lamott is cool. Once upon a time I met her in Waco, Texas. Pilgrimage the way, by night or by day, by here or by there & by ear or by stair.
September 19, 2016 at 11:06 pm
Seasweetie
Now, I’m envious, Erik.
October 11, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Contemplations of Spirit – Herzzentrale
[…] Quelle: Contemplations of Spirit […]
February 27, 2017 at 6:01 pm
Allen R. Kive
What a beautiful post! What you said about seeing God “in the sky and the trees and the rocks and the sea” reminds me of what I recently read in Romans.
“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” ~ Romans 1:20 NLT
Thank you for posting this!
March 12, 2017 at 8:06 pm
Seasweetie
Thank you, Allen!