New Day

I just spent a week with my family at Camp N-Sid-Sen on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho.  Each morning began with morning prayers by the lake side, with a simple chant "Take a breath..... (breathe) ....of the new day and make it part of you.  I took time before that to simply sit and be with the new day.  From that time came this poem. 

Take a breath 

      Hummingbird hovers near
      Swallows dip and dive
      Chickadees and sparrows greet morning with song
      Sunlight dances on lake
      Gentle breezes ripple water
      Squirrels chatter
      Fish jump for bugs
      Osprey call to each other

of the new day and make it part of you.

What is it that attracts your attention in the new day?  Are you taking in a new day that will refresh your spirit and guide you into this new day?

Symbol of Hope

Old stump, washed up on lakeshore

by long ago winter storms,

roots exposed,

bleached and dried by summer sun

teaming with life

ferns, lichens, tiny plants

invisible insects,

symbol of resurrection and hope.

Shelters of hope and love

provided by God

surround me too,

like the roots of the stump.

Sometimes I see and feel them.

Sometimes in my fear and despair,

I forget their presence.

Seeing nurse logs, mighty stumps

remind me to breath in

God’s loving, supporting presence,

bringing hope and resurrection

back into my life.