Is It Not All Blessing?
John Bonney of Springfield, OR, USA
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. -Ezekiel 37:26-27
Is it not blessing to see
the face of the baby,
or the teen
the middle-aged
or the elderly,
to say to oneself,
that person is a blessing?
Is it not blessing to thrill
to the song of wild geese
as they fly overhead,
to hear a melody
in the baby’s cry
the burble of the brook
the boom of the bullfrog?
Is it not blessing to take time
to actually look at the flower
attentively,
to sense the fragrance
blessed to touch a loved one
to give thanks
for the food of the day?
To catch one’s breath
at a sunset
a sunrise
or in moon’s glow,
to note the lush effulgence
of vegetation
every year.
Yet, still, to love the sight
of the naked tree standing
in unabashed, intricate
and asymmetrical silhouette
against the gray sky of winter;
blessed to listen, to watch
and to wonder
at the water-
water roaring shoreward
from great oceans,
water running in swift rivers,
water lapping gently
along lake shores,
water to drink and thereby thrive.
Is this not all blessing?
Prayer Phrase
“Light dawns on a weary world.” CCS 240
Spiritual Practice
The Light of God
Epiphany invites us to focus on the light of God. Close your eyes and draw your attention to your breath. As you breathe gently in and out, reflect on the statement, “The light of God is in all things.” The light has a bright, soft beauty and radiates God’s healing love. The light of God reaches you and permeates you with a deep sense of peace. Rest in the light as it surrounds and fills you. Thank God that you live in God’s light and it lives in you.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
