FOR THE SOUL
WHO YOU ARE

I stand in this valley

watching how the yellow-green grass

stretches up the blue mountain

against the coral-colored sky—

and I am reminded

no matter the times

my weary heart has tried,

nothing can wash away

the richness of these lands,

where silence is stronger than thunder.

My gratitude as steady as the hills,

I want to surrender to

gravity

remembering it is okay to feel small out here

as one of a billion divinely intentioned parts

of the morning hymn that has always been in you—

then sings my soul

How Great Thou Art.

And the thing about blooming is, nothing about the process is easy. It requires every part of you to stretch upward, with your roots firmly planted in the ground; and in the sun, and in the rain, and wind, you stand anyway, even against the pull of the soil. And through it all, one day you will see all along you were transforming. This took everything out of you, but the struggle was beautiful and necessary for your growth.

Amidst all the pressure

to keep going and to keep going,

may you also take time to learn the art of being;

being Loved,

being Held,

being Seen,

being in the Presence

of the One

who calls you

to rest.

For beyond your accomplishments

and your calendars, and your lists,

you were made with purpose and intention

to reflect Glorious Light

and to abide in Love

that reminds you

even in the pause

you are still

where you need to be.

No matter

how yesterday

unfolded before your eyes

and no matter the stacks of worries

burdening your mind

that have left you unsettled

or confused,

Light is still pouring in

reminding you over and over again

to surrender,

to let go,

for these troubles

are bound to shadows

that cannot survive in this new light.

Bask in these beams of sun

as you find your new beginnings,

a new way of seeing,

a grace-filled way

of living.

Oh, how steady

hope makes the soul

in the river rush of things

you cannot control.

For somehow through it all,

you have still been made whole.

Because as sure as the water

makes way

past the river stones,

so does hope carry you

past the depth

of your unknowns,

under fogged and white-gray skies

that demand

the most of tired eyes,

the sound of the rushing river

gently speaks:

all is passing,

truly passing.

What if all the imperfections

and the flaws

were only part of your story—

not the sum of who you are?

What if all along,

you were made to be beautiful,

and it was only the dirt from this broken world

that made you doubt your shining self?

And what if you were not alone,

as you once thought,

and when a friend

told you

she would be there,

she truly meant it?

What if for every time you were afraid,

you remember how you were brave,

and it only escaped your memory

because bravery is

natural these days?

Perhaps there are a million reasons

to never take the leap,

to never take the time to think

your presence means anything,

but I hope you know

there are more reasons to believe

this life is worth living for.

I hope you can look down

into that warped well of your imperfections

knowing whatever you find there

can never even compare

to the greatness in your soul,

shining wildly through.

Where is strength found?

not only in the highs,

but neither only

in the lows.

It is found in the grasslands

and the wastelands

and the footpaths

in between them

in your laments

your anthems

and the quiet hours

in between.

strength

can arise

in these places,

unexpected.

In winter,

the trees are bare,

and the sun is glorious

casting silhouetted tree limbs.

The air blows cold around us.

We are seen.

We are known.

O Great Light

of the world,

be my guide,

be the Path

beneath my feet

when I feel

that I might sink.

Be the river

in the desert.

Be the storm when my soul

is torn and dry.

Be my hope,

be my treasure,

be my peace,

when I

am lost inside.

Be everything

when I am nothing,

be the Way

in the wild.

Be my guide.

Be my guide.

More than anything,

I hope you find your way home.

I hope you find

what speaks to your heart

like nothing else in the world

has spoken to you before.

As you sit in this terminal

hoping this new city

will be home,

the home that you’ve longed for

where your name will be safe,

where you will finally

belong—

as you’re here

lugging luggage,

bumping shoulders

of others charging through

with apparently important things to do,

and you’re berated by

the mechanic clattering of voices

citing numbers,

directions,

delays,

Alone

inching toward your unknown.

But take time

to listen

for the ever-present Voice

gently whispering,

“I’ll guide you.”

And may your love for traveling far

remind you of traveling grace

finding you here in the crowd

reminding you that you belong,

no matter where you are.

through all the times you fell

and all the times you ran

not knowing what was next

or where your feet would land,

and all that was lost in translation

of a language you could not understand,

even then,

you were known

and you were still

headed home.

in all that has changed

or stayed the same,

you have found comfort in the Voice

rising up above the noise:

“You are loved,

you are loved,

you are dearly, dearly loved,

and you’re worthy of the journey

of being.

You’re worthy of the journey

of finding home

in Me.”

Step into the unknown and learn

as you go.

Walk through fire and

come forth refined

as gold

and journey on.

You have been made new,

and you see

nothing is ordinary.

You are being called beyond the shore

to a place you have never been before.

The water may be colder there,

and the ocean floor may seem too far,

but you are going to learn more of who you are.

So keep your eyes open

as you venture out today.

These waters are new,

but do not be afraid.

You are only going to grow here,

as your eyes and heart become open

to the process of becoming.

Let us leave room

for bold adventure

and wake up at dawn

in search of wonder.

Let us find joy

in the grit

of the wonderlands

and look for Light

in everything.

For all along,

we were made for this:

to step fully

into unknowns,

to know deep

within the night,

within the soul,

we were not meant

to go alone.

In every single

moonlit tree,

we were meant

to see those leaves,

and we were meant

to see the beauty

in the swaying arms

of branches.

So let us find rest

in these woods

so new to us,

knowing

this is where

we will learn

to grow

to love

to trust.

This is life.

You have been pulled into the fierce winds

carrying you over the barren hills,

leaving you bruised

on the shores of this rocky coast.

Your eyes have been reopened.

This life is broken.

Come now,

come falling

on your knees

on this bed of sand

where the stones have washed away

and the softened earth awaits,

take all the time you need

to be undone

and breathe.

Through all that is changing,

there are practices

we must hold on to:

wisdom,

love,

gratitude.

Gratefulness for how life’s lessons

have shaped us,

and no matter

where the journey takes us,

we know we never go alone.

I want to be more than my ruins. I want to firmly plant my feet on top of the fallen columns of a house I built out of my pride. From death to life, I want to know the Love way of rising up, fully alive from the depths within me, letting this new way of life reshape my way of seeing.

WHILE YOU WAIT

FOR CLARITY

AND ANSWERS

TO PRAYERS

THAT HAVE PULLED ME

FROM MY SLEEP,

I WILL REST

WITH SWEET ASSURANCE

THAT DEEP WITHIN I HAVE THIS HOPE,

AN ANCHOR FOR MY SOUL,

“YOU WILL NOT SWIM THESE DEPTHS ALONE.”

And as you start to ascend,

you feel the force of heavy winds

and for the first time,

you wonder if you should give up,

turn around,

and go back down

the mountain

and find a smaller hill to climb.

This is a broken place,

and you are treading on splintered ground,

trying to make sense of your progress,

and where you thought

you’d be by now.

And what was familiar is now too distant,

and what was unknown is now too close,

and you are wondering what to keep

and what to just let go.

But now that you’re here, let it be.

Slow down and let it be.

Find new rhythms

in the silence

to cling to lasting peace,

knowing well within your soul

you will have the strength you need

to make it through

these unknowns.

Decorate with flowers

or words

or music and

open the door for an old friend.

Just be there,

and listen,

without a word—

human to human,

heart to heart.

We are all

blooming,

and as we breathe this same air,

side by side,

we are reminded

at our core,

how similar we are.

What can we say

of this day?

It is here

this one time

and then

never will be again.

But we made time to see

the way autumn burns leaves

in the park

and

the thousands of footsteps,

hundreds of faces,

dozens of taxis,

making note of the little ways

life was pouring in.

I HOPE YOU SEE BEAUTY

IN FULL MOONS,

IN FULL BLOOMS,

AND IN THE SOUND OF RAIN.

I HOPE YOU FIND JOY

IN WHAT IS CHANGING

AND IN WHAT IS FAITHFUL

AND HAS STAYED THE SAME.

I will let life in.

I will not concern myself

gathering gold and silver

that can be taken from me.

I have to trust there is more to me

that goes beyond what I can see.

There is more to me

than what I know today.

I will stretch my hands up to the sky,

to say, “I am afraid but I will try,”

remembering

the sea was split in two

the veil was torn in two

so I could know deep

within my soul,

what it means to be Free.

I will not hold back,

for Love

has not

held back on me.

It is easy to admire

the grandeur of

mountains

while failing to mention

the lack of oxygen

at their altitudes.

But I find gratitude

climbing

a little closer

to the sky,

rising up

from the surrounding land.

I catch my breath

and I stand.

We stand tall in the high grass with wind on our backs and hope in our lungs.

We belong in this life.

There is a place for all of us here, by grace, there is a place for all of us here.

THERE IS MORE TO KNOW

AND MORE TO SEE,

AND ALL OF YOUR LIFE’S

MOST COLORFUL STORIES

WILL PREPARE YOU

FOR WHO YOU NEED TO BE.

No matter the doorkeepers

who told you that you were not welcome,

leaving you to wander

out into the margins

of a crowded city,

into the alleyways

late into the night—

beneath the wounds of their words,

there is still this lasting truth:

you are not doomed

to be lost forever.

You are free to find comfort.

You are free to be at rest

and be at home

in your wilderness,

exhaling

involuntarily,

free,

knowing there will be other doors

that will open up to you.

But in the meantime,

out here,

you have been found in the peace

in the piano music

drifting down

from the stairwell,

to carry on while waiting,

feeling secure

from here, within

right where you are.

And may you raise your tired hands

in Spirit and in Truth

knowing deep within your soul

by grace, you’ll make it through.

You’ll look back on days like this

with blessed, warm relief

that in the darkness you still chose

to see the Light in everything.

You have endured

storms passing through,

and even though they shook you to your bones,

they did not stay with you.

Nothing more than yesterday’s evening rain,

and though the ground is still damp in the morning,

this day is brand-new.

And it is okay if there are days

when you feel a little out of frame

and you hear rumbles of thunder

from where you thought the sky had cleared.

Though you cannot control the storm

it cannot hold you forever.

This is what the soul knows.

Light still fills the sky,

and though your heart gets heavy,

and your eyes have struggled

to find

the stars above

the streetlights,

you are free

to believe

Light is still

pouring in,

above,

around,

beneath,

within.

AND WHEN YOU GO

INTO THAT DEEP NIGHT

AND YOU FIND

UNBRIDLED FOOTPATHS

AND STARLESS SKIES,

MAY YOU KNOW

EVEN THEN

A FIRE BURNS WITHIN

AND WITH EVERY BREATH

IT IS REKINDLED

OVER AND OVER AGAIN.