Leoma's books - Reflections

Black-eyed Susan

10/5/2020

My time is late summer. I unfold my bright yellow petals and bring cheer and light to the hot August days. But now, at the end of September, I have lost my beauty. My leaves have dried up, my petals gone and my “black eyes” look more like dead thistles. Soon I’ll be plucked from the ground and thrown away, but that is not the end of my story. It is only the beginning.

You see, the seeds that are in that dead pod get scattered about. They will lie in the earth during the long, cold winter and spring. In June and July, as they are warmed by the sun, they wake up from their peaceful sleep and come to life. Roots, stems, leaves grow longer, taller, fuller until the bud forms and brings forth the beautiful yellow petals that once again bring cheer and joy to hot August days. And next year, there will be more of us than this past year.

The lesson I teach is that sometimes it takes a long time before God can show the glory He has been preparing. And when that glory begins to fade, it is only to begin anew the preparations for the future.

Changing Seasons - the maple tree

9/30/2020

I’m always in transition, but this season it is more obvious – leaves turning from green to yellow to orange and red. The leaves furthest from the trunk tend to be the first to turn, those more exposed to the elements. In a couple of weeks, I will be ablaze with color. Perhaps that will be my most beautiful season, but it also means losing all the leaves I’ve been producing for months! They have reached the end and will shrivel, turn loose and fall to the ground – dead.

Soon my branches will be bare, ready to face the cold winds, snow, ice or whatever comes. But I am not dead. I’m simply resting after all the work of spring and summer. It is the rhythm that has sustained me for many years, the cycle of giving life, fulfilling my purpose, displaying splendid beauty and then resting.

I’m fulfilling the purpose God gave me by being the best tree I can be. Perhaps someone will cut me down and use my wood to make a useful piece of furniture. Even in that I have value. Or one day I will fall over due to my advanced age. Until then, I’ll be the best maple tree I can be and thus give glory to my Creator.

We are all praying for the same thing

9/22/2020

Each of us has his/her own opinions and political preferences. We have our reasons for why we hold certain positions and believe that a certain candidate will carry out to the best of their ability, the laws to establish the policy we want to see enacted. In the presidential election, we all have our own, probably strongly held, choice of candidate. But did it ever occur to you that when we pray, we all end up praying for the same person?

I personally take great comfort in Romans 8:26-28:

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (NLT)

So, whether we realize it or not, when we pray, the Spirit interprets our prayers according to God’s will. We are all praying for the same thing, regardless of what we think we are praying for.

spider webs

8/27/2020

We are weak and generally powerless, but we are not helpless.

Normally you wouldn’t even see me as my web is designed for transparency. But the fog has left droplets of water on it, so it’s visible if you look carefully. The design is not unique. The Creator taught our species how to make it so we could catch our meals efficiently. As you can see, it takes a LOT of work and the material I use is very delicate, strong, yet flexible.

If we have families to feed, the web must be really big and placed strategically. Some are vertical, others horizontal, but none of them are noticeable unless you look very closely. Sometimes they seem to almost be your imagination. Even those webs that soar into the sky must be firmly anchored to the ground to maintain just the right amount of tension.

Other species of spiders build differently. Instead of an open weave pattern, their webs are more like tissue paper or the wisp of a feather. It all depends on what you want to catch. The web has to be well-placed and strong enough to be effective.

And when the large ones come and break up our handiwork, we sigh and begin again.

in me

8/24/2020

How I long for your peace to reign in me,

To understand deeply your mercy in me.

“Be still” then my work you will see

For so much more is waiting for me.

Help me be a safe place for others to be.

Protect me from any distortion of Thee

For nothing is impossible with you in me.

In Transit

8/20/2020

It was 11:00 at night as the shuttle dropped me off at Grand Central Station on one of my first trips to New York City. The driver cautioned me about the homeless people sitting outside the station. I was tired and bewildered and needed to purchase a ticket to JFK airport. I wondered what to do as I stood in the huge empty room staring rather blankly at the row of ticket machines lining one wall.

Then one of those “homeless people” approached me and asked where I was going. I told him and he said “Oh, that’s $8 one way. Shall I buy a ticket for you?” Still feeling totally out of my element, I put the money in the machine and he punched some buttons and out came a ticket. Since I still didn’t know where to go or what to do with the ticket, he said, “Go through those doors to Gate 18.” As I started toward the doors, I turned to thank him and see if he wanted something in return for his help. I found myself completely alone in that big room.

As I proceeded through the doors and to the assigned gate, I felt deeply grateful to that man. As I arrived at JFK and got on my flight, I realized that “homeless person” was probably an angel. He didn’t look like an angel, but he aided me when I was very much in need, and I gave a prayer of thanksgiving to God for sending him.

Reflection on Psalm 133

8/5/2020

Be still, my soul, be still.
Let go the busyness of life.
Quiet the mind from words til
All worry, angst and strife
Are quiet enough to hear
The gentle voice that’s near.

Be still, don’t miss the blessing
That quiet, loving voice does bring.
Harmony – a oneness and refreshing
That causes the heart to sing.
Be still before the Holy One
Who gave for us his Son.

Be still, my soul, be still.
Quiet mind and heart and soul.
Bestowing riches is his will;
Peace, love, harmony the goal
Beyond what you could ever know.
Be still and let it flow.

Entitlement

6/26/2020

We are in the midst of a global pandemic with COVID-19 cases rising significantly in so many places. In an attempt to limit the spread, and keep the number of cases from overwhelming the available resources, governments, hospital workers and many others are urging people to wear masks and stay six feet apart. That seems a very simple request to preserve life and prevent further financial disasters for many families.

BUT there are a number of people who feel their rights are being taken away. “No one can tell ME what to do!” “I have my rights!” “You’ve gone too far this time!”

What are they REALLY saying? “My rights are more important than your life or well-being.” “My rights mean I can do what I want to do and no one else really matters.” “I come first!”

These statements are the result of a sense of entitlement – power, prerogative, privilege. Americans have long been moving in the direction of independent, self-reliance and individuality. In themselves, these traits are not bad. We value these principles a lot. However, when they come without the balance of care for others, compassion, humility, and self-sacrifice it becomes the ultimate selfishness.

Wearing a mask is not to protect the wearer, it is to protect those who come close to the wearer. That person may have underlying health conditions that you can’t see. And without your mask properly in place, they may end up on a ventilator. You may be the carrier that makes them sick and that sickness may result in thousands of dollars in medical bills, loss of jobs and even death.

We live in a community, and if we fail to protect the community because of our independent spirits, we will find ourselves the less for it. We must not fail to care for those around us. In the words of Henri Nouwen, “To care is to be present to those who suffer and to stay present even when nothing can be done to change their situation. To care is to be compassionate and so to form a community of people honestly facing the painful reality of our finite existence. To care is the most human gesture, in which the courageous confession of our common brokenness does not lead to paralysis but to community.”[i]

[i] "You are the Beloved" by Henri J.M. Nouwen © 2017 by The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust. Published by Convergent Books.

wasp in a tree

6/23/2020

In the leaves to green
sits a little wasp that stings
small matters do things.

reflections on the beach

6/8/2020

God is Like the Sea

Some years have passed since I played in the sea,
And those years have taken their toll on me.
My knees are less stable,
My body less able.
For a young man I’m grateful
who joined me so faithful.
When in waves we did tumble,
Undertow made me humble.
He helped when I stumbled
And my body got jumbled.

I’m reminded of ways God’s like the sea--
He’s always there waiting just for me.
He’s gentle, He’s rough
There’s always more than enough.
He never gets tired of the ebb and flow
However long we’ve known Him, there yet more to know.
There’s joy for the toddler, the youth and the teen.
Even us old folks find more to glean
From the abundance of grace
As we seek His face.
Thank you, God, for the sea
And all the lessons it teaches me.

Leoma Gilley, 2020