barrenness is an opportunity to be filled is an opportunity to bless someone in need is an opportunity to be emptied of self is an opportunity to confront misplaced desires is an opportunity to know who you are is an opportunity to confess on your knees is an opportunity to find the way the truth and the life is an opportunity to have a reference point in the tumult of your soul is an opportunity to be still in the storm is an opportunity to let silence have its way is an opportunity to let go of this word is an opportunity to surrender your life is an opportunity to shelter beneath the shadow of His wings is an opportunity to gain everything is an opportunity to truly live is an opportunity to find your identity in the uncreated One is an opportunity to truly be alive
I took too many photos (Is that even possible?) during my recent trip to Guatemala. Whittling down the images I processed in black and white for this post was a bit painful. Like trying to tell Baskin-Robbins what flavor I want. (In case you’re interested, it’s always vanilla. I know… I know…)
This first gallery contains images from Antigua, Santa Maria de Jesús, Santiago Atitlan and Altamira Oriole Antigua.
Opportunities to love the unnoticed and to care for the forgotten are opportunities to have your soul grounded in what matters, and liberated from all the temporal pursuits that occupy so much of our mental and spiritual energy.
Our contact in Guatemala took us to a ministry in Santa Maria de Jesús that provided a solid foundation for the best that we image bearers carry – namely our longing to connect and to express love for others – as well as giving us a chance to be uncaged from our many preferred prisons. Examples abound.
The ministry is called Harvesting Happiness. The work is profoundly simple and indescribably beautiful. Provide lunch for the elderly population. Provide a gathering space where the aged can enjoy a meal, create art, and have their birthday’s celebrated. They also bring lunch to the elderly who cannot walk due to illness or other physical limitations. Beautiful.
Which brings us to Carmen, and her home.
Standing next to Carmen is Brennan. She is one of the ministry leaders at Harvesting Happiness who leverages her medical training to help Carmen’s oxygen saturation go from below 90 to a marginally acceptable level that morning, and consistently uses her super power (love and other-centeredness) to impact the elderly community around her. Carmen considers Brennan to be her “mom.” Carmen remembers her mom, and feels like the love, care, and medical oversight that she experiences through Brennan is her mother’s love returning to her. Our Guatemala contact built her home a few years back.
Let me encourage you to find the unnoticed and to love them. Let me also encourage you to find ways to be uncaged. Thanks for stopping by. I don’t know when exactly it is, but… Happy Birthday.
we are young we are sparkling newborn souls and our bones ache and our hearts creak and shadows now travel along our optic nerve
eternity beckons and we age only to realize we are beginners and the wisdom collection we keep on our shelf only reminds us of our duplicity and all that is mysterious and unknown within and without
tidal memories ebb and flow within our mind leaving behind empty shells some speaking of beauty and the brightness of life others cracked and shattered souvenirs of the hard road of the painful storms
but we are beginners every day and our God has planted eternity in our hearts endless time is within us it is no wonder we long for lasting peace we search for a deep abiding joy we ache for a love that isn’t tossed by the waves of this tumultuous life
we are bound by time and an immortal presence resides in our hearts
we are shackled to schedules coordinate our calendars while something that is ageless beckons our attention
it seems to me that we could use some time in the mourning house to see how tightly we are tethered to the earth and its own decay and to weep to mourn and wail in order to awaken the Eternal in our hearts to begin a new query into what is real what is lasting what is true
let us be boundless by being present to the undying Light and Love that perpetually shines in us let us be free of these passing moments by surrendering to our Creator God while we walk on the earth we can touch heaven in His redemption and in the grace of His Son we walk on the road while we dance in the skies and await all things new
to deny the brokenness the darkness the sin is to close our eyes and turn away from injustice from all the craters where schools once stood
is to place our hands over our ears to escape the tears carried on wailing waves on too many streets
is to cover our lips and become statues with utterless words screaming silently injecting our hearts with the novocaine of indifference after all what can we do really
we slingshot around the moon while shots ring out in the southside in the middle of the east on midwest streets unable to speak we cling to the songs of our tribes we can deal with that vibe
it's just too hard to try to understand i clasp my hands kneel down and pray for our enemies for our adversaries for our leaders to stay in a place of grace towards all life that mercy might reign for each child and soldier and mom and dad amen amen
God show us the way Kyrie eleison God come near today Christe eleison heal here today Kyrie eleison hear us we pray Christe eleison have your way in us we pray Kyrie eleison
The last three posts have been about images from my time in New York. Specifically, a meditation on my home and family on Long Island, and my stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge. This post contains a few “leftovers” from my time in Lower Manhattan and features The Oculus and a single subway image. If you enter “Oculus” in the search box to the left you can check out my other images of the amazing Oculus.
I have been on a three month sabbatical that will end at the end of July. One of my goals during this time was to spend time in New York with my dad and siblings. My previous post came out of my time in New York. In all the years spent growing up on Long Island, and then years going back to visit New York – we have lived in the Midwest since 1988 – I never walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. So, I decided to take a stroll on that beautiful bridge. Here is what I saw, part 1. Thanks for stopping by.
sons and brothers brothers and sons may you carry well the love i tried to share with you magnify any wisdom you may have seen or heard please forgive me when you were young i was trying to figure it out too and it still feels like i am beginning
and now you walk together and can see more as you share the path tell each other the story of your movements through this world and through my shadows you may see me as i hoped to be as i was and as i am
know i hold you both the breadth and length of you stories are tucked away in my heart an endless album of images and melodies from the day the music of your tears announced your birth to this moment as you read these words i hold you both in love in honor with pride with joy my sons my dear sons love one another
and there were threads in the garden and there were stars in the leaves and there jewels on the flowers and there were diamonds in the webs
and there were threads in my mind tethered to sorrow beauty lament wonder love
and there were stars in my heart sparkling memories regrets dreams loss hope
and there were jewels in my soul brilliantly reflecting the promises of my heavenly Papa the redemption of the Lamb the deliverance from the shadows of my brokenness
and there were diamonds all around family friends love companionship a smile an encouraging word gratitude melodies light beauty song
The day began with a beautiful sunrise, courtesy of the Illinois River.
Then my wife and I worked on a small wallpaper project in our main floor bathroom. No one was hospitalized, the bathroom looks great, and we are still married. The true test of a couple’s emotional health is their ability to finish a wallpaper project!
Finally, hopped on the Kawasaki and took a ride to the wind farms on this beautiful day.
Hope you have a wonderful week. Thanks for stopping by.
rutakintome pictures 
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