ember
hope is an ember
that glows faintly in the hearth
its feeble flicker
signs of its struggle
before it subsides
into cold ash
lean close,
breathe on it
gently,
carefully
bring it
to life
again
Jodie McCarthy
What I am learning about breathing
I’ve been thinking a lot about breath of late. Of how vital it is and how much we take it for granted.
Maybe it is because I have started a weekly Tai Chi class that focuses so much on the exhale and inhale. Maybe it is because my constant phrase to my daughters when they get stressed or upset is, “Breathe”. Maybe it is because I find myself saying it when I text my friends, (I’m unsure whether it’s more a reminder for them or for me.)
Continue reading “What I am learning about breathing”On my word for the year and why it’s taken me so long to tell you
This is the post I have been putting off writing. This is the post I have found every possible reason to delay. This is the post that makes laundry look appealing and Facebook scrolling imperative.
This is the post where I tell you my word for the year.
Continue reading “On my word for the year and why it’s taken me so long to tell you”Reflect
I peer at the glass,
struggling
to make out the image.
Trying to discern
the shape
of the face
staring back at me.
In the waiting: Do not forget his great faithfulness
At the end of the year it can be easy to start focusing on the year to come. 2019 is only a few days away, after all, and it seems wise to start planning and thinking about what is to come.
Especially, if you are in a time of waiting. It can be easier to forget about the year that has passed in pain and waiting, and instead focus on believing and hoping again for the year ahead.
Yet this hope and belief is grounded in a knowledge of the one who holds your hopes and dreams, ‘in the waiting’. And it is good to remind yourself of the faithfulness of the one who holds you.
Continue reading “In the waiting: Do not forget his great faithfulness”In the Waiting: Find strength in joy
When the angel first appears to Mary her first reaction is not joy! In fact, one version of the account in Luke says she was “greatly troubled” and another says she was “thoroughly shaken.”
The angel has to reassure her and tell her “not to be afraid.”
In fact, the reaction from Mary followed this pattern: fear, questions, and then acceptance.
Continue reading “In the Waiting: Find strength in joy”
