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MEDITATION:

Written by Kathryn Bindig, a contemporary American pastor and spiritual consultant. 

When we tune ourselves into God’s awesome creation—when we pause to notice life bursting forth all around us, our automatic response is reverent gratitude.  It is impossible to stand in the light of creation & not recognize the reverent majesty and wonder of God’s presence in, around, & within us.  The awesome beauty & reverence of: a vine adorned with morning glories, the joyous song of birds singing, a deeply rooted stable tree, the gentle waves of a serene clear lake, the power of majestic mountain ranges, the first cry of a newborn baby, the healing sound of laughter shared, the warmth of souls embracing, the soothing feeling & sound of the wind, all fill our souls with deep reverent gratitude for our Creator & fill our spirits with new life, joy & hope.  When we fail to recognize the spiritual context in which we live, we lose sight of our Creator and our whole being; mind, body and spirit become broken and separated from our life-giving force.  Though the reverence of creation transcends our full understanding, by the very fact that God is in all creation and all of creation is in God, we who are created in the image of God, are pulled into sacred harmony with God’s creative order and made whole.  Creation is the healing balm that makes us whole and brings us into balance; in our mind, body, and spirit, regardless of what season we may find ourselves in.  The challenge for our soul is to find ways to live in harmony with God’s creative order, which by its very nature includes beauty and suffering that affects our mind, body, and spirit, without losing sight of our Creator.  We know that life is gloriously complicated.  It is difficult to understand why any suffering at all exists, but we know it does. However, even in the worst suffering, ultimately beauty will always outweigh our suffering for our Creator God resides in all life and God created all life to be beautiful and good.

PRAYER:

Written by Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), a Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and Christian theologian. He served as the archbishop of Canterbury from 1093-1109. 

Lord, because you have made me, I owe you the whole of my love; because you have redeemed me, I owe you the whole of myself; because you have promised so much, I owe you my whole being. Moreover, I owe you as much more love than myself as you are greater than I, for whom you gave yourself and to whom you promised yourself. I pray you, Lord, make me taste by love what I taste by knowledge; let me know by love what I know by understanding. I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no more, and by myself I cannot render the whole of it to you. Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness of your love. I am wholly yours by creation; make me all yours, too, in love. Amen.