reflection on Psalm 85

 Earlier this year I was able to be back with my contemplative prayer group in Southern CA. The reading for the week was a portion from Psalm 85, in Nan Merrill's Psalms for praying.

Here's my reflection.

hope rises like

an updraft of wind

gentle, but enough

to move me

I could write all I hope for

on strips of paper

and cast them to the wind

to scatter like the leaves

tossed, tumbled,

out of my reach

I give chase, but none can be caught

these hopes are

mine, of this world

O Spirit of Truth,

look on my hopes with

your grace

allow me to dance

with joy

and sing like

the sparrow

Dawn M. Switzer

Trinity Haiku Prayers

 

dreams of disaster

anguish waiting to befall

oh God, protect me

 

the dawn comes again

faithful companion of days

Jesus, give me hope

 

awake and rising

my soul wide and waiting

Spirit, enter in

 

Dawn M. Switzer

February 15-21, 2022

morning prayer group, Lent, day fifteen (2022)

 A reflection on "Walking Rainbows" by Ann Weems

rainbows = rain + light

storm + hope

mystery + miracle

reflected in the firmament

I hope to be a reflection 

of God

walking on the earth

opening my soul

to shine forth with

all the colors

knowing that the treasure

to be found at the end

of the rainbow

is a life lived

in Love

Dawn M. Switzer

Morning

Oh the deliciousness of a Satruday morning lie in

the light weight of summer bedding

the heaviness of the dog snuggled by my side

the way the after dawn light

fills the room

and welcomes me gently to a new day

I relax into the decadence of a morning

not ruled by an agenda or a to list

allowing me the time and space

to breathe freely

and melt into the softness of the sheets

I sigh in gratitude

these occasional mornings are delightful

rest for a weary mind and soul

time apart from reality

this, I think, must be an earthly glimpse

of the vast heavenly kingdom

awaiting us all

Dawn M. Switzer

July 2023

God the Strength of My Heart

 Oh Lord, 

it feels as if I spend my days looking at my inadequacies;

the gap between 

where I am and where You made me to be

is so vast that I cannot see the way through

the dark and the deep.

I am frozen in my humanity.

Then I remember, 

You are my strength and song.

You call to me.

You show me the way.

You give me the stepping stones, 

one by one, 

to the end of my days.

Amen

A reflection on Joyce Rupp's "Fragments of Your Ancient Name" - August 6

little pieces

a reflection on Matthew 7:3

little pieces of dust
big pieces of wood
dust to dust, ashes to ashes
we all live with the dust and the wood

which do I pay attention to?
which do I focus on first?
the wood in my own eye
my flaws, my sin
is invisible until I purposefully stop to examine,
to assess, and then
to ask forgiveness
“The unexamined life is not worth living”
but taking stock, really looking
is hard
so much easier on the ego to point out
look at the dust you are carrying
yet where does that get any of us?

I can only look at life through my
own lens
of experience, not yours
mind your own beeswax – perhaps

 
but rather than withdrawing or judging
what if I seek to understand –
listen, ask questions, open space
for your story to be told
 
we all have a story that needs to be told
and, just maybe, when we tell our stories
stories with chapters of dust
and chapters of wood
we will see each other clearly
whole, human, children of God

in our bones

 

in our bones

A reflection on Shine – A Christmas Blessing by Jan Richardson

  

I feel it in my bones,

she would say,

when change was coming

and she was right

I feel it in my bones ~

an expression of deep-rooted knowledge

certainty

truths held close

treasured

 

Your light has come

Is coming

Will come

 

The light will bear itself into our bones

 

if we open our hearts

if we only say “yes”

with the certainty of faith

that it will be so

 

Come, Emmanuel

God with us

God with me

I feel it in my bones

and it is so

 

  

Dawn M. Switzer

December 28-29, 2022