Love, God. Deborah J. Simmons-Roslak

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and then, we can experience our reality also. We are simply the Beloved of Love Itself. Thank you doesn’t seem quite enough.

      “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to that which also you are called in one body; and be you thankful.”

      Colossians 3:15

      Take a Moment to Listen:

      In the fullness of All there is you were conceived. In the richness that is your inheritance you are swaddled. Reach to touch all that is yours from before even time itself began. You are the heart and joy of the Creator and the Love of existence entirely.

      Guided Meditation

      What would you like to tell the people in your life who love you? What would you like to say to those in your life who have guided you, prompted you or lifted you up when it was needed? Co-workers, random meetings with people whom you may never meet again might have lifted your spirit, or encouraged you when needed. Does that deserve a heartfelt thank you, or a sanctified prayer of gratitude?

      Imagine living in a place where gratefulness comes easily. It floats on the very air that you breathe. In a quiet space, think about how you understand gratitude. Have there been moments in time when you have taken friends, family or co-workers for granted? Of course it didn’t feel that way in the moment, but did the depth of gratitude fill you as you thanked them for their kindness? Have there been times when you might have forgotten or taken for granted the depths of God’s incredible and unconditional love for you?

      Breathe in deeply and exhale. Breathe in the gratitude that God holds for your very existence. Allow it fill your lungs, stomach and all of your being. Gratitude breeds sheer joy.

      Breathe in the joy that God holds for your existence. Gratitude and joy fills all who are open to the Ultimate Love from which we were all created. As you breathe in that gratitude and joy, so are you able to share the same with every one around you.

      Your Thoughts/Experience:

      “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist at all.”

      Karl Rahner

      Among the must do’s, the can do’s, and feverish scheduling for future do’s the soft call of the hungry heart restless to find the pathway homeward asks of us to hear its’ need. A heart-call can make itself known in any recognizable form, but how is it possible to fill the need for the mystery that is God’s every present light and love? How can we fill the need of our heart with an unfathomable mystery? It’s fortunate for us that we don’t need to know. We do need to be willing to step aside and allow it to happen.

      That our hearts would call out for the light and love of God is no mystery in and of itself. Having been created in and with that same Light and that same Love the heart calls for that which is completion and fulfillment. It calls for that which provides clarity, perspective and strength in sweet vulnerability. Where to begin?

      Become aware of your personal heart-call. Among all of your must, can and future do’s, sit quietly listening to what your heart needs from you. Take a walk through your neighborhood. The smallest flower is grand by design. Each vein of every petal is there with intent and purpose. Allow your heart to speak to you and when you do, allow the answer to follow.

      Just as the small flower is grand by design with each piece there for purpose and intent, so is it with human beings. We are the Love of God by design. Our intent and purpose is only to extend the Love that is so freely wrapped around our lives.

      Breathe in the light through which we are seen and reflect it outward toward everyone and everything you touch. Your heart will be filled with the unfathomable mystery of resting in peace and cradled in Love.

      There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

      1 John 4:18–19

      Take a Moment to Listen:

      Sweet child of heaven, you are as you were created. Just as the moment when Love first breathed spirit into your heart, your heart longs to remember and to feel once again the fullness of completion. More and deeper will you sense who you are to Who created your very being as you let go of apprehension and allow the richness of your inheritance to fill your soul.

      Guided Meditation

      We are invited to participate in the relationship that began from our very creation. The fullness of divine Love, joy and gratitude is our inheritance from the space of our very creation.

      Find a quiet space and relax. Breathe in deeply and exhale. Breathe in again deeply and exhale. The mystery of our relationship with our Creator is only a mystery when attempting to qualify or quantify it. Breathe in deeply again and exhale.

      There is no mystery in a ‘mystic’. There is however, honesty, truthfulness and total trust in an undefined relationship that has been ours from our very beginning. This cannot be reasoned, qualified or quantified. It can only be experienced. This is called ‘mystical’ because the mystery of the depth of love between creator and created cannot be reasoned or logically attended to. It is the mystery of reciprocally experiencing the depth of a relationship without explanation.

      You not only have the ability to feel and experience the love of your Creator, but are also able to extend that love to all you touch within your day-to-day life. Sit with God and soak in the indefinable and filling love and gentleness from which you were created. It is freely given. Receive it freely and extend it as such.

      Your Thoughts/Experience:

      “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. . ..Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

      Thomas Merton

      Pure trust in that which is unseen may seem to be a precious commodity in this time of instant gratification, social media, show me, I can prove it to you, facebook, youtube video, instagram society that whirls faster around us each day like a vortex of social refuse. Societal acceptance, indeed its embrace of the available kaleidoscope of opportunities we are presented with in order to form basic relationships is astounding, given the face that upon occasion, it is the same accepting society that capriciously condemns the usage of those same social management tools. We continually place our trust in a capricious society though, just as we so readily trust the many forms of electronic relationships which pander to our need for community—albeit at a distance.

      Electronic relationships and electronic communities do not require any level of human vulnerability or trust basic to human relationships. While we are safe from vulnerability and safe from developing trust, we are also safe from experiencing deep and lasting relationships that require both vulnerability and trust. We then are well on our way to making ourselves safe even from God.

      “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

      Jeremiah 17:7–8

      Take a Moment to Listen:

      Precious child, you are the light of heaven itself, and the glory

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