To thinkwhere darkest nights have taken this soul,and how thinthe membrane between lifeand death, how loudthe Accuser has screamedto pierce the membrane and throw me through;yet hereI stand, with no reasonbeside You and the sheerleap into faith that saved,the softbelly of love into which I fell;so hereI stand, with myeldest in my arms whilehe reachesContinue reading “Chesed”
Category Archives: Devotional
Father’s Day
You take it all, you and your brothers:my sleep, my leisure, my freedom,my heart.Daily I prepare myselfto lose myself,to find myselfin the joy of your laughter,the excitement of movement,the power unlocked from discoveringwords, actions, nodding or shaking,the lands that lie open to traverse as your feetbecome slowly, rapidly acquainted with walking.Daily this,all this, directsmy pulse,Continue reading “Father’s Day”
Into Silence
Attention is the beginning of devotion. Mary Oliver Startled by the beating of my own heart, the poundingof my thoughts in between my ears, I have foundnoise to be quieter than silence, have brokeredterms of peace armedwith a flashing screen.Nothing frightens likethe thought that you may not be enough; You are enough, are All. InContinue reading “Into Silence”
Desert Food
They also brought food for David and all who were with him, including wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, flocks, and cheese. For they said, “The people are no doubt hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the desert.” 2 Samuel 17:28-29 Mid-crisis, after yet another narrow escape,the fugitive king rests, and thisContinue reading “Desert Food”
Turning
The scent was masked as we walked, thoughhints of pollen pushed their way through cloth to me,and on returnas I parked the pram and setexcited new walkers free to roam, I soakedmy senses in the radianceof fruit trees delightingin new white-pink growth, and the hopethat if not now, soon at least,signs are sure, sure toContinue reading “Turning”
Learning to Splash
To prepare my children for a world of puddles,I must learn myself what to do with puddles,how to take the mud with the joy,how to wear the shock of the wet,how to delight in the splash.To prepare my children for a world of shadows,I must learn how to see the sun in the shadows,and howContinue reading “Learning to Splash”
Changeless
Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Collect for Compline, The Book of Common Prayer Full of contradiction, I am buoyedby the blossomContinue reading “Changeless”
Extraordinary Time
Deprived of the ordinary markings of days -drives to work, birthdays, people to celebrate -we clingmore fervently to organic signs,the constant shifts in the garden,which trees have blossomed,which ones have leaves,how tall the pea plant has grown,how white its petals.These and the aphids signal time:those and the snails migrating,the worms beneath the compost,the dead birdContinue reading “Extraordinary Time”
Improvisation: Rain
In these days of lockdown (my city, Melbourne, is experiencing the toughest restrictions of anywhere in Australia so far), I have been finding myself drawing increasing inspiration from the small things that I notice in my local environment, looking ever closer and closer to the consolations of the everyday. This video poem came from aContinue reading “Improvisation: Rain”
Signs
Watchful, I spy the first buds,now only the flower’s potential,one day, soon – the fruit.Impatient, I come hereagain, again each dayto measure progress in the budding leafor to catchthe lemon in the act of ripening,quince in mid-blossom,almond in leaf.Wait, small heart.It lingers; wait.The signs are surethough August is fickle and eyes are sore.And God hasContinue reading “Signs”
The Consolations of Writing 